1. Enjoy the beauty of colombine flowers Slides will advance automatically

51. Columbine is an early Summer flowering plant. One of the easiest perennials to grow with delightful, interesting flower shape. Columbine Flower or Rocky Mountain Columbine-White and Lavender (Aquilegia caerules) is the official Colorado State Flower. Columbine flower is a spring-blooming flower. The Columbine flower (Colorado Blue Columbine) was designated as the Colorado state flower in April, 1899 . The Columbine Flower, also known as the Colorado Columbine, was named from a Latin word Columba, which means dove, as it looked like the bird of peace

52. In the religion and mythology of every ancient nation, the garden, fragrant with the varied sights and smells of beautiful flowers, is portrayed as the natural habitat of gods. Often sacred meaning is endowed upon certain flowers. Prominent among these is the columbine. The columbine (A. vulgaris) is a plant of the Ranunculaceous genus Aquilegia, with coloured sepals and spurred petals, giving the appearance of a bunch of pigeons. The generic name of Aquilegia is derived from the Latin aquila (an eagle), the spurs of the flowers being considered to resemble an eagle's talons. Formerly the columbine was known as Culverwort, the Saxon word culfre meaning a pigeon. In fact, literally, ‘columbine’ is derived from the Latin word columba which means ‘like a dove’ or ‘dove-coloured’, though in the secret language of flowers, the ‘columbine’ often represents folly, from the mythological perspective, its petals symbolize the seven gifts of the spirit. The wild columbine has only five petals. The leaves are dark and bluish green on the upper surface and greyish beneath. The Columbine may be distinguished from all other flowers, by having each of its five petals terminated in an incurved, hornlike spur. The petals are tubular and dilated at the other extremity. Interestingly, the flowers are perfumed like hay. The flower is referred to in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and in one of Ben Jonson's poems: The ‘columbine’ holds yet another significance- in pantomime, a ‘columbine’ refers to the sweetheart of Harlequin. The term ‘columbine’ is derived from its Latin source – ‘columba’ which means ‘ a dove’. In fact, closely related to the religious connotation of the flower ‘columbine’, the term ‘columbarium’ (derived from it) signifies a ‘dovecot’ or a ‘niche for a sepulchral urn’. Thus, the natural and beauty of the flower is enriched by the multi-layered significance attached to it.

53. Thursday 18 February 2010 … 09:18 by Charlotte Photos shot in Steinhaus – Ahrntal (Sud Tyrol) Music: Danubio blue – F. Pourcel