The most famous of all garden saints is St. Francis (or Francesco in Italian). Born Giovanni (after John the Baptist) in 1181, his father immediately changed his name to Francesco. His father was a rich merchant and wanted a son to follow in his footsteps, not to be a man of the church. It was in Francis’ latter 20’s when his life changed drastically. He went from rich to poor by his own will, shedding all material possessions, including his own clothing to help another in need. He built a brotherhood of men who reveled in their love of nature and all of God’s creation. In the latter part of his short 45 years, Francis received the Stigmata. It was two years after his death that he was proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory IX.

Often you’ll find statuary that depicts St. Francis flanked by wild birds. The legend is that he preached to hundreds of birds about being thankful for their colorful “clothes”. The birds stood still and listened as he walked among them. It was not until he said they could leave that the birds flew away.

You’ll notice that in our display gardens there are more St. Francis statues than of any other saint. This is why:

Many confuse St. Francis as being the gardening saint since he’s often depicted with birds. The true honors should, however, be bestowed on St. Fiacre, an Irish Monk who spent his days creating beautiful gardens and healing. He was a colorful character who lived in the 600’s (a good 500 years before St. Francis) who did not especially care for women, had run-ins with a witch, and who was associated with taxi cabs and hemorrhoids.

Born in a monastery, Fiacre had access to plants and seeds that a normal peasant in those days would never even learn of — much less get his hands on. Fiacre, as a priest, was granted forest land by St. Faro on which he could build his monastery and gardens. He planted so many flower and herb gardens that he soon ran out of land. St. Faro offered him as much land as he could turn up in a day. Legend has it that Fiacre drew a trench with his cane and prayed and by the next morning all the soil was turned. It was during this miracle that a (possibly jealous) woman went to the Bishop and accused him of working magic. The Bishop, however, upon seeing the miracle proclaimed Fiacre a Saint and the spying woman a witch!

In 1648 a man rented carriages from a house in France called the Hotel de St. Fiacre where a statue of the famous saint adorned the doorway. All coaches in Paris became known as fiacres. The tradition grew and taxi drivers began placing small images of the saint on their dashboards, proclaiming him their patron saint.