September 20, 2019 The Harvest That Never Came, Lorenz Scholz von Rosenau, Margherita Caffi, Mary Sophie Young, Anna Pavord, Carl Sandburg, Big Dreams, Small Garden by Marianne Willburn, Pot Up Herbs for Indoors, and the Rhodum sidus
Subscribe
Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart
Support The Daily Gardener
Connect for FREE!
The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community
Monologue
Folklore and legends are often intertwined with plants and gardens.
Today I stumbled on a Swedish Legend called "The Harvest That Never Came," and I thought you'd get a kick out of it. The story has been used in lesson plans to teach kids problem-solving. I'm going to abbreviate it a bit, but here's a good English translation.
A young man named Arild was the son of a Danish noble family. He had fallen in love with a girl from Sweden named Thale. But in the midst of their romance, Denmark and Sweden declared war on each other.
Arild, who served in the war as a Danish Knight, was captured by the Swedes and thrown in prison. While he was in jail, Arild received a note from Thale, his true love.
"My dearest Arild,
I promised to wait for you forever, but I fear I will not be allowed to. My father says you will never return, and he has chosen another man to be my husband... He has already set the marriage date.
I will love you always.
Your faithful Thale"
Now, Arild was not about to die in prison, and he was certainly not going to lose Thala. So, he came up with an offer, and he presented it to King Erik of Sweden in the form of a letter:
"Your Royal Majesty,
Grant me one favor. Let me go home to marry the woman I love. Then allow me to stay only long enough to plant a crop and harvest it.
On my word of honor (as a knight), I will return to your prison as soon as the harvest is gathered."
The King granted Arild's request, and Arild married Thale. In the Spring, Arild decided on a crop, and he planted the seeds, placing them six paces apart.
In the Fall, after the Harvest season had passed, King Erik sent a messenger to summon Arild back to prison.
Arild looked at the messenger with surprise, saying, "My crop is not harvested... Indeed it has not yet even sprouted!”
The messenger looked perplexed and said, "Not sprouted? What did you plant?"
Arild's reply revealed the cleverness of his plan: "Pine Trees."
When King Erik heard Arild's story he wisely judged, “A man like that does not deserve to be in prison.”
Botanical History On This Day
1552 Lorenz Scholz von Rosenau, botanist, physician, and polyglot, was born. He was a Renaissance plantsman whose seven-acre garden, early potato growing, and plague scholarship earned him both nobility and lasting botanical admiration.
1710 Margherita Caffi, Italian still-life painter celebrated for lush floral compositions, died, leaving behind a rare legacy of artistic success and royal patronage in a world reluctant to welcome women painters.
1872 Mary Sophie Young, botanist and fearless West Texas plant collector, was born. She was a woman who masked her gender behind initials, curated a growing herbarium, and found awe in vast, lonely landscapes.
2019 Today is the birthday of garden writer and chronicler of permanence Anna Pavord. She is celebrated for reminding us that gardening is not about grand conversions or perfect results, but about roots, time, and the quiet work of doing.
Unearthed Words
Under September’s harvest moon, Carl Sandburg reminds us that autumn carries beauty and mortality hand in hand, whispering softly through silvered garden nights.
Grow That Garden Library™
Read The Daily Gardener's review of Big Dreams, Small Garden by Marianne Willburn
Buy the book on Amazon: Big Dreams, Small Garden by Marianne Willburn
Today's Garden Chore
Before frost arrives, pot up favorite herbs — mint, parsley, basil, rosemary, and even scallions — and let the kitchen windowsill carry your garden gently into winter.
Today's Botanic Spark
1910 A Vermont newspaper delighted readers with the tale of the Rhodum sidus, a roadside weed transformed into a floral sensation by nothing more than a fanciful name — proof that beauty, like fashion, often blooms in the imagination.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener
And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
Featured Book
