Ep 150 St. Patrick and the Legend of Clover
Sun, Mar 03, 2024 9:54AM • 9:56
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
saint, patrick, day, four leaf clovers, clover, garden, susan, shamrocks, mary, dilemmas, March, Shamrock, folklore, nature, leaves, podcast, green, ireland, holiday, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on the screen porch, a rainy and overly warm day, and we're on the cusp of March. The snow has all melted away, but the snowdrops (the Galanthus) are nodding their lovely tiny white bells, the first sign of Spring, although it's technically three weeks away. When March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion is an old-time saying amongst other March folklore we featured in Episode 26 Folklore of Hope - Planting Following Nature, although officially the saying is in like a lion out like a lamb, but years past have proven it could be the reverse. Maybe it's my hope for more snow. March brings St. Patrick's Day too and I look forward to sharing the history and significance of clover or shamrocks in the holiday.
Mary Stone 01:17
But first thanks to those who reached back after last week's chat about how Straw Bale Gardening builds community. I heard from one fellow who grows vegetables on his driveway using three or four straw bales. What a great idea. If you don't have space for a garden, you can grow right on your driveway. But I would suggest not growing by anything like zucchini or pumpkins because you'll have no room for your car (giggle). So, on to this week's story that starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:46
Hello, fellow listeners and readers. While shopping in a nearby grocery I came upon cute little shamrocks on display for St. Patrick's Day, inspiring learning about the legend of shamrocks and the significance of the holiday. I love the green theme, of course, and the association with clover, which you may recall from Episode 2- Field of Clover that it's a favorable lawn alternative. It is not only drought tolerant, it's a nitrogen fixer that requires little or no mowing that pollinators adore. Then there's the folklore of good luck when you find four-leaf clovers that jump out at me amongst a field of little cuties. They say there's one four-leaf clover for every 10,000 three-leaf clovers. So, finding one is indeed lucky. The luck of the Irish as the saying goes. There are rare finds of five, six, or even more leaves, according to the Guinness World Records. A Clover stem with 56 leaves was found in Japan, and it holds the record as of May 10, 2009. Holy moly, can you imagine 56 leaves?
Mary Stone 02:54
As the legend goes, St. Patrick use the three heart-shaped leaves of clovers, also called shamrocks, to symbolize the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Shamrock remains the national flower of Ireland. But how Patrick became a saint is a noteworthy part of the story.
Mary Stone 03:14
Patrick was born into a wealthy family in Roman Britain in the fourth century. His Father was a deacon, and his grandfather was the priest of a Christian church there. But Patrick did not believe in God. He was captured and enslaved as a shepherd in Gaelic Ireland at 16 years old. During his six years of captivity, Patrick found God and became a believer. Perhaps the meditative time amongst the miracles in nature and tending to animals was a source of finding his spiritual self. However, I read in a Declaration, presumably written by Patrick, that God told him to escape and find the ship waiting for him on the coast to take him home. Upon his return to his homeland, Patrick became a priest. Then, he returned to Ireland at about 432 and spent many years converting others to Christianity, creating monasteries, churches, and schools. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461.
Mary Stone 04:12
St. Patrick's Day, also March 17, became a day of religious services and feasts in celebration of his life. Of course, it's a non-spiritual holiday to most, with parades and toasts of green beer, even green bagels. Cities with a high concentration of folks of Irish descent have the most extravagant celebrations. The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston was in 1737 in New York City; it was 1962. Chicago has painted its river green on St. Patty's Day since 1962.
Mary Stone 04:46
There was something happy about the green theme, especially as winter comes to a gloomy close, which recalls the lyrics of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. "Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing." Happy St. Patrick's Day. Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.
Mary Stone 05:07
I'm going to pause a little bit and listen to these raindrops. I mean, there's something so pleasant about the sound of rain hitting the roof. And, of course, the cusp of Spring imagining all the moisture going into the soil, encouraging the new growth to emerge. On the blog post is a photo of the handsome Murphy of rescue dogs sporting a St. Patrick's Day cap with a clover. He and his people, Alice and Neil, are certified with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, spreading joy at nursing homes.
Mary Stone 05:41
There is a plant that actually has permanent four-leaf clovers that you can enjoy in your garden. Oxalis tetraphylla is also known as Pink Shamrock, Lucky Clover, or Iron Cross. It's a bulb that you plant, and it has pinkish-red flowers that rise above the 10 to 12-inch lime-green foliage. But it's an annual here. It's Hardy in zones seven to ten.
Mary Stone 06:07
Speaking of clovers, there's a beautiful older lady I've met many times over the years while walking on the Paulinskill Rail Trail that runs many miles in our neck of the woods, where a train from Hoboken to Pennsylvania once did. Susan has curly reddish brown hair that falls below her shoulders, is elegantly dressed and uses an artful engraved wooden walking stick. The first time we met, I had our dear, unexpected rescue who was afraid of dogs and sometimes timid of unfamiliar things. Ellie first feared Susan because of her stick. But once she began speaking to her, she sat happily for pets.
Mary Stone 06:46
It's true Susan calls herself an animal whisperer, and she does have a sweetness about her with all of us, including animals. A few weeks later, I noticed her at the head of the trail bending down, and I asked if she was looking for four-leaf clovers. She smiled. "This is a special spot. I found many on the trail. They say they're only one in 10,000 that have four leaves. But there are many more here." Four-leaf clovers pop out of the crowd for me too. And I used to tuck them into books as a kid. I love stumbling upon them when I open those books. Susan reached into her pocket and handed me a four-leaf clover laminated on a heart-shaped card. How lovely.
Mary Stone 07:28
Others who hiked the trail know about the good luck lady. She always stops to chat with those who wish to and offers a clover. About a year ago, I ran into her at a hair salon in town. She didn't recognize me, maybe because I was without a dog. Or maybe due to the head full of foils in my hair for highlights. Susan was in the chair beside me, getting a permanent to keep her curls. As she was leaving, she passed out laminated four-leaf clovers to everyone in the salon. I have three of her Clover cards. Others I've passed along with the story of Susan's kind heart. Small gestures of kindness and love can grow forward. Thank you, Susan, for inspiring us.
Mary Stone 08:11
As I was preparing this story for you, I couldn't help but tune into that earlier episode, the very second one we did together about the Field of Clover. And in that episode, there are sounds of Ellie rolling her treat ball which was a way to get her not to gulp her food. As a rescue she had a bad habit of gulping her food because she was rarely fed that first year of her life. So listening to the story and her sounds just warms my heart. And here we are at number 150 of our podcast series. And I have to say, it's getting hard for me to keep up with the pace of the weekly column and podcast. And now my season of garden design and so forth is starting to kick in. So, I may have to switch gears a bit. I would love to hear about your thoughts or ideas or things that really stand out that you like about the podcast or what you may think would be a good way to shift it up a bit. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com or through the social links in the tag. So thanks so much for coming by. Always enjoy our time together and I hope you have as well. I so appreciate you sitting with me each week. It warms my heart. See you next time.
Mary Stone 09:26
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at GardenDilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.