Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Aquilegia

Taken at the Reader Rock Garden in Calgary on 26 July 2013. Managed to find a pretty perfect flower to photograph : ) Such a joy to see, as the city and province had been devastated by the Alberta Flood of the Century just over a month before my visit to this garden. Not sure what variety this one is, but there are large numbers of hybrids available for gardens. I always enjoy coming across the delicate, wild species, too. "The flowers of various species of columbine were consumed in moderation by Native Americans as a condiment with other fresh greens, and are reported to be very sweet, and safe if consumed in small quantities. The plant's seeds and roots are highly poisonous however, and contain cardiogenic toxins which cause both severe gastroenteritis and heart palpitations if consumed as food. Native Americans used very small amounts of Aquilegia root as a treatment for ulcers.[citation needed] However, the medical use of this plant is better avoided due to its high toxicity; columbine poisonings may be fatal." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquilegia After a few snowflakes fell this morning, the sun has finally come out and there are patches of blue sky. It's -11C (windchill -19C).

Another visit to my archives resulted in finding this colourful image. I always love photographing these graceful flowers, and I was lucky with the light on this particular day. I know it's partly the location of Reader Rock Garden, on a hillside, but it seems that almost every single time I call in at this place, it's very windy - never a good thing when trying to take photos of flowers, especially ones that grow on a long, thin stem : ) Taken on 7 July 2010. "The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle (aquila), because the shape of the flower petals, which are said to resemble an eagle's claw. The common name "columbine" comes from the Latin for "dove", due to the resemblance of the inverted flower to five doves clustered together." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquilegia

So often, these flowers are hanging their head, hiding their beautiful flower shape. Taken at the Reader Rock Garden on July 6th.

Photographed this pretty Columbine more than two years ago! It was growing in a flowerbed at the Mountainview Sports and Handicapped Centre, where we stopped and had our lunch on a day of botanizing. In case anyone doesn't know, the name Columbine comes from the Latin for "dove". Looking down on a Columbine flower, it looks like a ring of Doves with their wings spread a little. Numerous Columbine cultivars and hybrids have been developed. Can you believe it? I overslept this morning and consequently missed a mushroom hike with a few friends!!! I was SO upset, as I so rarely get a chance to go looking for fungi somewhere where I won't go on my own. I have been so stressed out over trying to sell my brother's house over in England and I knew that it was going to be auctioned on Thursday. I didn't hear anything, but did find the auction results online. The list said that the house was "Sold Prior", though I have heard nothing about a buyer. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. especially after the original buyer backed out, even after the Sold sign had been up in the front garden. Anyway, all this stress obviously caught up with me last night and made me sleep longer than I should have! Rather than stay at home and feel even more depressed, I reckoned it was better to go over to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park and see if I could find at least something! I think there were actually a few more fungi than there have been recently, though most were not in the slightest bit photogenic. Did manage to find a few little "treasures", though. Nothing new, but I'm always happy with something beautiful, new or not : ))) 4:30 p.m. WOW - thunder, lightning, torrential rain! And hail ... and now the sunshine : )

Crazy problems with Flickr this evening - when it comes to typing and posting comments on people's images and typing my own descriptions! This gorgeous Columbine was growing at the Reader Rock Garden when I visited there two days ago. Poplar fluff is falling like huge snowFlakes everywhere and sticking to everything in sight. A Few oF us spent a long day today botanizing a wonderFul area at the Foot oF the eastern edge oF the Rocky Mountains, including a wetland/bog ... OK, enough is enough! I have lost the comment I'm trying to type six times now. This Flickr problem is just too annoying!