Myths, symbols & folklore
The language of flowers, part three:

"Especially in the early 19th century, it was not unusual to express difficult messages by means of flower arrangements. A playful flower-symbology had first emerged toward the end of the 18th century, and it was revived a century later. In 1899 G.W. Gessmann wrote that he hoped his guide to this Blumensprache would 'remind especially our gracious ladies of this most sensible custom.' "


Dead-nettle: "Your promises of love leave me cold; your promising and gallantry ring hollow"
Field clover: "Let me know when I can see you again"
Forest-rose: "One who is born for quiet happiness, finds contentment only in obscurity"
Forget-me-not: "Three words reveal he wish to meet again: Forget me not!"; also, "Give heed to what this little flower whispers"
Garlic-blossom: "What I feel for you is the utmost indifference"
Grain (ear of): "What you ask, only time can bestow."
Guelder-rose: "However unfeeling you pretend to be, Cupid's arrow one day yet will reach you."
Hazelnut blossom: "Fear not: innocent love is under God's protection"
Hyacinth (white): "My heart draws me to you, pale dreamer"
Iris: "You fill my heart with joyful hope, only then to plunge it into doubt"
Iris (blue): "Your feigned emotions scatter, and no trace of them remains
(Biedermann)