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 I'll share a link to a good English translation in today's show notes. 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 prison, Arild received a note from Thala, 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 Thale. 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 each of 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.” "And so, Arild was allowed to remain home with his beloved Thale. And a magnificent forest stands today as a testament to his love."     Brevities #OTD  Today is the birthday of the botanist and physician Lorenz Scholz von Rosenau who was born on this day in 1552. The information history has preserved about Scholz gives us a rare glimpse into the botanical life of a dedicated plantsman in the 1500's. Like many early botanists, he was very well educated and he was a polyglot; reading, writing, and speaking many languages.  One of the most important endeavors accomplished by Scholz was translating medical references which were written in Greek and Arabic. He took that information, along with references written by peers around Europe, and put together a reference book that combined all of the best medical information of his time. His work proved so valuable in helping to teach people about the plague, that he earned a coat of arms and nobility title, the Scholz von Rosenau" name in 1596. As for botanical activities, Scholz was way ahead of his time. He grew potatoes - a dubious activity during his day and age, and one few gardeners would have pursued - because people were afraid of night shade plants. And, Scholz had a massive garden even by today's standards - over 7 acres. I love the description of the layout for Scholz's garden: four quadrants, big central pathways, and smack in the middle of all of it was a building that historians say was used to entertain; Scholz had designed it to serve both as a dining hall and an art gallery. Clearly, Scholz was a people person and he loved entertaining his friends and family at his garden. During the growing season, Scholz would hold gatherings he called "flower festivals" in his garden to delight his friends and family.    #OTD  Today is the anniversary of the death of Margherita Caffi who died on this day in 1710