It is unlikely that Mary was familiar with candles as we know them because oil lamps were the usual source of artificial light in her time. By the late 4th century, however, we know that Candlemas was celebrated in February and commemorated the occasion when Mary went to the Temple in Jerusalem both to be purified 40 days after the birth of her son, and to present her child to God as her firstborn, in accordance with Jewish law. On Candlemas many Christians take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year. The resemblance of the large flowering stem of Great Mullein to a candle makes it a good choice for a Mary garden.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons; Presentation in the Temple by Master of the Life of the Virgin
Also called common mullein and woolly mullein, this native of Europe, Africa and Asia, is a herbaceous biennial and a member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, that also includes butterfly bush, snapdragon, and bacopa. The plant develops a deep tap root and in the first year produces a basal rosette of silvery green, velvety leaves that are 4-12″ long and evergreen. In the second year the plant produces a single, occasionally unbranched, stem 3-10′ tall with leaves that are similar to but smaller than the basal leaves. In summer, the stem bears a dense terminal raceme of fragrant, 5-lobed yellow flowers. The flowers are 3/4″, bloom irregularly from bottom to top over a long bloom time, and are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators. The fruit is a rounded capsule that splits into two valves at maturity to release up to 400 seeds. As a result of thre great production of seeds great mullein may become weedy.
The genus name, Verbascum, may be related to the Latin word barbatus, meaning bearded and referring the the hairness of the leaves. The specific epithet, thapsus, refers to ancient city of Thapsos (or Thapsus) in Sicily, where the plant was thought to have been commonly found.
Great mullein like full sun and average to lean, dry sandy or rocky, well-drained soil in USDA hardiness Zones 3-9. It is susceptible to damage by slugs, snails, spider mites, powdery mildew and fungal leaf spot, may need staking and can become weedy. Propagation is by seed.