From Sheri & Bob Stritof,
Your Guide to Marriage.
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Throughout history, lovers have given flowers to each other as a token of their longing, devotion, and love. Researching the meanings that folks have given to specific flowers has revealed that many flowers have many meanings. So, in reality, the meaning of a flower that you give as a gift is dependent on how special a flower is to your spouse and whatever you want that flower to represent. Just be sure that you communicate that message to your loved one.

"The flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire. Every stage of their growth has its own beauty, but the last phase is always the most glorious. Then very quickly they all go to seed." - From John Clarke's (John Alderton) ungiven speech in the movie, "Calendar Girls."

ACACIA: Concealed love, chaste love.

AGAPANTHUS: Love letters, love.

ALIUM: Strength.

ALSTROMERIA: Wealth, prosperity, fortune.

AMARYLLIS: Pride.

AMBROSIA: Love is reciprocated.

ANEMONE: Forsaken, expectation.

ANTHURIUM: Lover.

APPLE BLOSSUMS: Good fortune.

ARBUTUS: Thee only do I love.

ASPARAGUS FERN: Fascination.

ASTER: Variety, elegance, daintiness. This purple wildflower was once burned by the ancients because they believed the resulting smoke would drive away evil. It was named for the Latin word for "star." Also known as the birthflower for September.

ASTILBE: I'll still be waiting.

AZALEA: Love, romance, first love, fragile passion, temperance. It is also the Chinese symbol of womanhood.

BABY'S BREATH: Innocence.

BACHELOR BUTTON: Single blessedness.

BALSAM: Ardent love.

BEGONIA: Beware.

BELLS OF IRELAND: Good luck.

BIRD OF PARADISE: Magnificence.

BITTERSWEET: Truth.

BLUEBELL: Humility, constancy.

BOUVARDIA: Enthusiasm.

BROOM: Humility.

BUTTERCUP: Childishness.

CACTUS: Endurance.

CALENDULA: Grief, jealousy. Also the birthflower for October.

CALLA LILY: Magnificent beauty. Associated with the sixth wedding anniversary.

CAMELLIA: Gratitude.

CAMELLIA, PINK: Longing for you.

CAMELLIA, RED: You're a flame in my heart.

CAMELLIA, WHITE: You're adorable.

CARNATION: Fascination, distinction, divine love, woman, yes. Also the birthflower for January.

CARNATION, PINK: A woman's love, I'll never forget you, mother's love.

CARNATION, PURPLE: Capriciousness.

CARNATION, RED: Alas for my poor heart, admiration, my heart aches for you, fascination.

CARNATION, STRIPED: Refusal, No, sorry I can't be with you.

CARNATION, WHITE: Innocence, faithfulness, sweet and lovely, pure love, ardent love, good luck. These lovely flowers have lasting qualities, and are often handed out on Mother's Day to symbolize the purity and strength of motherhood. They were handed out at the first Mother's Day service in 1908.

CARNATION, YELLOW: Disdain, rejection, you have disappointed me.

CATTAIL: Peace, prosperity.

CHRYSANTHEMUM: Cheerfulness, optimism, rest, truth. Considered to be a noble flower in Asian culture, mums are used as an object of meditation per a suggestion by Confucius. Also the birthflower for November.

CHRYSANTHEMUM, RED: I love.

CHRYSANTHEMUM, WHITE: Truth, loyal love.

CHRYSANTHEMUM, YELLOW: Slighted love.

CLEMATIS: Clever, intellectual. Associated with the eighth wedding anniversary.

CORNFLOWER: Delicacy.

COSMOS: Modesty. Associated with the 2nd wedding anniversary.

CROCUS: Cheerfulness, abuse not.

CYCLAMEN: Resignation, good-bye.

DAFFODIL: Regard, rebirth, new beginnings, unrequited love, you're the only one, chivalry. Associated with the tenth wedding anniversary. Also the birthflower for March.

DAFFODIL, SINGLE: Misfortune.

DAFFODIL, SEVERAL: Joy, happiness.

DAHLIA: Instability. Associated with the fourteenth wedding anniversary.

DAISY: Innocence, loyal love, I'll never tell, purity. Associated with the fifth wedding anniversary.

DANDELION: Faithfulness, happiness, love's oracle.

DAY LILY: Coquetry, Chinese emblem for mother. Associated with the twentieth wedding anniversary.

DELPHINIUM: Big-hearted, fun.

EBONY: Blackness.

EREMURUS: Endurance.

EUPHORBIA: Persistence.

FERN: Sincerity, magic, fascination, confidence, shelter.

FIR: Time.

FLAX: Domestic symbol.

FLYTRAP: Deceit.

FORGET-ME-NOT: True love, hope, remembrance, memories.

FORSYTHIA: Anticipation.

FOUR-LEAF CLOVER: Good luck, be mine.

FOXGLOVE: Insincerity.

FREESIA: Innocence, thoughtfulness.

FUSCHIA: Taste. Associated with the third wedding anniversary.

GARDENIA: You're lovely, secret love, joy, sweet love, good luck.

GERANIUM: Stupidity, folly, comfort, gentility. Associated with the fourth wedding anniversary.

GINGER: Strength.

GLADIOLUS: Strength of character, remembrance, infatuation, splendid beauty, give me a break, I'm really sincere, flower of the Gladiators, admiration, tells recipients that they pierce the heart like a sword. Because the gladiolus has blade-shaped leaves, the name comes from the Latin word gladius which means sword. Also the birthflower for August.

GLOXINA: Love at first sight.