Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

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jgh
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Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by jgh »

Are you familiar with the strange and sad story of King Ludwig II of Bavaria?

He was born in 1845. At that time there was no Germany as we know it, but rather a haphazard collection of royal domains, all of them ruled by nobility related through a complex series of royal marriages and alliances. Wars changed boundaries every few years.

Young Ludwig had something of a fairytale youth. Born into a family of eccentrics, he grew up in Hohenschwangau, a fantasy gothic-style castle built by his father near the Tyrolean Alps. He was indulged and developed interests in nature, art, heroic tales, and music.

But life was not kind to Ludwig. His father died unexpectedly, thrusting him onto the throne of Bavaria at the tender age of eighteen. Over the next few years he saw his country’s sovereignty get absorbed into the new German empire under Kaiser Wilhelm I.

Withdrawing from public life, Ludwig spent the rest of his life enjoying music and building castles. His most famous construction is the beautiful Neuschwanstein, a fantasy castle built high on a mountain. It is a major tourist attraction and served as the inspiration for the castle at Disneyland.

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His eccentricities eventually brought him to a sad end. He was deposed from his throne, and just a few days later he failed to return from a walk and was found floating in a lake. The official ruling was suicide, but serious questions remain. History has dubbed him “Mad King Ludwig” but he is still beloved by many Bavarians who call him “The Swan King.”

But this isn’t about King Ludwig… there is no registered hosta H. ‘King Ludwig.”

Besides Neuschwanstein, Ludwig is best known as the enthusiastic supporter and patron of the revolutionary composer, Richard Wagner. Wagner brought a great deal of theatricality to his music and is best known for his operas. He drew on mythology, which endeared him to Ludwig. Though few of us will ever attend a full performance of Lohengrin or das Rheingold or Tristan and Isolde, most of us have heard Wagner’s music.

Who can ever forget the scene in Apocalypse Now... the helicopters swooping in to wreak horribly beautiful havoc to the strains of “Ride of the Valkyries?”

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But this isn’t about Wagner. Despite of the abundance of good names for hostas that could be gleaned from Wagner’s operas - H. 'Siegfried' anybody??? - as far as I can tell no such plants have been registered.

But in 1955, Republic Pictures made a biopic about Wagner, featuring his life and music and starring Yvonne de Carlo. Republic was known for filming inexpensive Westerns and adventure serials, so this was a huge departure – a “prestige picture” to improve the image of the studio. It is a lavish film – huge cast, ornate sets, towering music… expensive – and something of a box office flop.



The name of the film is
Magic Fire.

‘Magic Fire’ is also the name of the second hosta in the top tier. It was found in 1998 and registered in 2005 by Wilkins and patented by Jan van den Top. It is a sport of H. ‘Sagae,’ distinguished by its more compact habit and wider, brighter margins.

I have no idea what Jan was thinking about when he named it Magic Fire – perhaps he is a movie buff. It is certainly a dramatic hosta… Wagner, with his verve and flare would certainly approve.

I know I look at it and hear in my mind...

Bum-tah-tah-BUM-Bum
Bum-tah-tah-BUM-Bum
Bum-tah-tah-BUM-Bum
Bum-tah-tah-BUM





Image
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sugar
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by sugar »

Another picture... showing the leaves
Image

Colours fade later on in the season
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whamadiddle
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by whamadiddle »

Jim, this is one of my all time favorite hostas.
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Linda P
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by Linda P »

Jim, I am fairly breathless after that wild ride.
:o :roll: :lol:
Bum tah-tah BUM bum....

Whew.......
I will never look at Magic Fire the same way again.

Linda

p.s...your post was surely a Wagnerian effort!
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne

Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"


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jgh
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by jgh »

oh, Linda... I think that was supposed to be a compliment... but I've always found Wagner far too long and kind of boring... I'm afraid that is the same assessment a lot of people have of my writing...
dash
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by dash »

Jim,
I have to say I rather enjoy your educational posts. - Dennis
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impatience
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by impatience »

Boring you are not.
Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts.
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thy
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by thy »

:lol: Jin and thanks for the European history update.... had to find a map of Bravaria and it is a part of Germany today... I had it a bit more east in the ChecK, Austian, German corner, never even seen the castle before and if I was asked I woud set it in the Rhine (rive) area :wink:
Wagneris more than a long time...too long tine one night stand for me, but if not I would love to have the pation to sit still for hour after hour.. in 3 days ...LOL good thing, it is very expencive and if not into the circles nearly impossibel to get a ticket,,, so just feeling the mood is out of my hands.

Weird thing is, the goddess they are both talking about are the same as the Nazi Germany talked about and it have nothing with southern germany to doo at all. They are the old nordic gods and signs, belonging to scandinavia and the most northern part of Germany.

Christianity was the official state religion in Denmark from areound 960, the Chatolic church first and the Lutheranium. We have several religions and in the last 15 years or so the old religion have been accepted once again. A warrior religion with a lot of fairytails, but no romantic castles at all :wink:

Think Jan just thought it was glowing and on fire..but we have to ask him

By the way, how the heck did you find the way from Bravaria to h. Mgic Fire :hmm: or even worth, the other way around :lol:

Love your lessons :wink:
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
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Patrushka
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by Patrushka »

Yes!!! We do get a Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2. :D

Lots of interesting info there Jim. Thanks for sharing it.

Magic Fire is a beautiful hosta. :cool: I had one for a few months. :( It was potted waiting to be planted in the perfect spot. It was a hot, humid summer and it succumbed, I guess, to crown rot. At the time, it was the most expensive hosta I had ever purchased. It's probably time to replace it especially since the price has dropped considerably.
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Linda P
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by Linda P »

Yes, Jim, that was a compliment. I happen to like the Wagnerian style, though as Pia says, it takes about 3 days to go through one of the operas.
:D
I can't wait for the next Top Shelf hosta saga!

Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne

Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"


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renaldo75
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by renaldo75 »

I certainly wouldn't have ever gotten there from where our master storyteller started.
But I certainly enjoyed the ride.
GO HAWKEYES!!!

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flowerchild59
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by flowerchild59 »

Another one for the books Jim. I didn't know where you were going as usual, but it was fun to get there :lol:
On the keyboard of life always keep one finger on the escape key.
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razorbackfan
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by razorbackfan »

This was great fun to read! You're a great storyteller. Thanks for writing this.
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GrannyNanny
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by GrannyNanny »

Jim -- I'll have to consider using Ludvig as a hosta name sometime, since no one else has it. I have one I'm registering in the fall that I've called Louis the Fourteenth. Wanted Sun King (same person) but there is already one called THE Sun King, so that was too close for registration. Thinking about opera names, however, gives a whole new, wide field for naming hostas. Thanks -- Phyllis
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jgh
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Re: Top Shelf Hostas - Number 2

Post by jgh »

Interesting sidelight, Phyllis... in my research I found that Ludwig is actually the German form of Louis... same name, different parts of Europe...
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