Flowers

Upper Rhenish Master, Little Garden of Paradise (c. 15th century)

About

In addition to having their own rubrics, flowers have rich traditions in Catholicism, history, art, culture, and music! Below are relevant resources, rubrics (also on the Rubrics page), and some notes from my own floral research.

Rubrics

The General Instructions of the Roman Missal, paragraphs 305-306 refer to flowers and decor on the altar.1

The Catholic Encyclopedia covered the subject under “altar vase.”2

Here is some commentary from New Liturgical Movement:

What one can do and be in accord with the rubrics will depend also upon which form of the Roman liturgy one is using. In the modern form, GIRM 305 seems to state that that flowers are not to be placed upon the mensa of the altar. Obviously however, if there are parishes using the modern Roman liturgy and an altar is being used which does have gradines (which implies it is traditionally oriented) such flowers can be placed upon the gradines (or “shelves”) which are attached behind the altar itself. This would preserve the rubric found in paragraph 305 of the GIRM. Likewise if one is in a parish using the modern liturgy where the older high altar remains in tact and a free-standing altar is used before it, it would seem to me that flowers can be placed upon the old high altar (or its gradines if it has them) and likewise be in accord with the relevant rubrics. Insofar as those conditions are present, the considerations presented here are relevant to the modern form of the Roman liturgy.

In the case of the 1962 Missal, so far as I can see, there is nothing to prevent flowers from being even on the very altar itself, unless there are gradines present in which case they should be used instead. Moreover, tasteful restraint is also called for as is only common sense and this would apply to any form and sanctuaries generally. (Too often “more” is thought of as being better, but that is not always the case.)3

And from Crux:

In the year 2000, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops published liturgical guidelines under the title “Built of Living Stones.” That document says in No. 129 that “the use of living flowers and plants, rather than artificial greens, serves as a reminder of the gift of life God has given to the human community.” But those words speak to a preference rather than a prohibition.4

For a short, helpful overview on both choosing flowers and navigating rubrics, see Flower Arrangement in the Church by Katharine M. McClinton.5

Here is a PDF with excerpts from McClinton’s book.

Giving flowers to Mary

One traditional custom, by no means required, is for the bride to give a bouquet of flowers to Mary shortly after the Final Blessing.6

Mary Gardens

The most popular custom regarding flowers in Catholicism is Mary gardens.7 Mary gardens are a custom - dating at least to medieval Europe - of dedicating a garden to the Blessed Mother and growing plants associated with her. The flowers and herbs with Marian associations are quite extensive, from rosemary (Mary’s rose), to bleeding hearts (Mary’s heart), to ferns (Mary’s hair). FishEaters provides an excellent list of flowers and their Marian associations.8

For those with the resources and inclination, you could grow a Mary garden, or (very much dependent on the flowers you choose) you could try to repot your bouquet into a garden.

Choosing flowers

You can choose wedding flowers based on budget, season, the architecture and design of the church, your cultural/historical background, or for a religious association. Below are a few of my favorite resources on flower histories and meanings:

  • McClinton’s book Flower Arrangement in the Church5
  • Louis Gemminger’s book Flowers of Mary9
  • the blog The Pious Spinster10
  • Wells and Patterson’s book 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names11
  • A. M. Coats’ book Garden Shrubs and Their Histories12
  • Leon Tolle’s book Floral Art for Religious Events13

My bouquet

I wanted white and blue flowers for my wedding bouquet, and I wanted to weave in some flowers relevant historical and cultural associations.

My bridal bouquet (description from my wedding program):

The cornflower is one of Germany’s national symbols. They are associated with faithfulness and the Habsburg monarchy. The last ruling Habsburgs, Karl and Zita, are on their way to sainthood, and are two of the only (almost) saints to be venerated specifically for the vocation of marriage. Rue is the national herb of Lithuania, and commonly used by Lithuanian brides for hair wreaths. During the Medieval Era, it became popular to dedicate a garden to Mary, and over time, numerous plants became associated with her. The flowers we have chosen stem from this tradition. Roses and Sweet Williams both have a Marian connection, and a connection to the bride’s and groom’s names (Rose of Sharon, and William). Anemones have an historical connection to both Mary and the Crusades. (Post-wedding note: I was unable to get sweet williams, so I added daises.)14 15 16 17

Sources

  1. General Instruction of the Roman Missal. International Committee on English in the Liturgy, 2002. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html ↩︎

  2. Schulte, Augustin Joseph. “Altar Vase.” In Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01357d.htm ↩︎

  3. Tribe, Shawn. “Adorning God’s Altar: Some Thoughts Upon Floral Ornamentation on a Traditionally Oriented Altar.” New Liturgical Movement (December 28 2007). https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2007/12/adorning-gods-altar-some-thoughts-upon.html#.ZEsvSHbMJPZ ↩︎

  4. Doyle, Kenneth, “Are Artificial Flowers Allowed on the Altar?,” Crux, 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/20230427034213/https://cruxnow.com/church/2015/09/can-artificial-flowers-be-on-the-altar-in-a-catholic-church ↩︎

  5. McClinton, Katharine Morrison. Flower Arrangement in the Church. Morehouse-Gorham Company, 1944. ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. Zuhlsdorf, Fr. John, “Quaeritur: The Origin of Giving Flowers to Mary During Weddings.,” Fr. Z, January 25, 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20230426185924/https://wdtprs.com/2012/01/quaeritur-the-origin-of-giving-flowers-to-mary-during-weddings/ ↩︎

  7. Foley, Daniel J. “Medieval Mary Garden.” University of Dayton, 1953, https://udayton.edu/marianlibrary/marysgardens/m/medieval-mary-garden.php ↩︎

  8. Fish Eaters. “Mary Gardens: Flowers for Our Lady.” https://www.fisheaters.com/marygardens.html ↩︎

  9. Gemminger, Louis. Flowers of Mary, 1858. https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/books/FlowersofMary_10789006. ↩︎

  10. Fleurs de Marie-Jacqueline: Catholic Church flower lore, film reviews, and more. (Blog). http://the-pious-spinster.blogspot.com/. ↩︎

  11. Wells, D., and I. Patterson. 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names. Algonquin Books, 1997. ↩︎

  12. Coats, A. M. Garden Shrubs and Their Histories. Dutton, 1965. ↩︎

  13. Tolle, Leon J. Floral Art for Religious Events; a Definitive Manual of Tradition and Design for Worship, Weddings, Funerals, and Other Occasions. New York: Hearthside Press, 1969. ↩︎

  14. Kandeler, Riklef, and Wolfram R. Ullrich. “Symbolism of Plants: Examples from European-Mediterranean Culture Presented with Biology and History of Art SEPTEMBER: Cornflower.” Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 60, no. 12, Aug. 2009, pp. 3297–99, doi:10.1093/jxb/erp247 ↩︎

  15. Giloi, E. Monarchy, Myth, and Material Culture in Germany 1750-1950. Cambridge University Press, 2011. ↩︎

  16. Dawson, John William. Egypt and Syria: Their Physical Features in Relation to Bible History. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1885, http://archive.org/details/egyptandsyriathe00dawsuoft ↩︎

  17. Johnson, Ben. “Michaelmas, 29th September, and the Customs and Traditions Associated with Michaelmas Day.” Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Michaelmas ↩︎