Black fine line botanical tattoo of flower sprigs and leaves on the side of a ribcage, below the armpit.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Fine line botanical sprigs on the side ribs

Fine line · Ribs · Black and grey · Photo

The tattoo shows two slender botanical sprigs with small leaves, buds and a rose-like bloom at the base, drawn in delicate single lines. The linework is fine and even, with only light grey shading in places, and the design is entirely black ink. The sprigs curve outwards and sit centrally on the side of the torso against a dark top, with the skin's natural tone providing contrast.

Fine line Botanical Ribs Flower Sprig Leaves Bud Rose

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Ruth,

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The white rose by the wash-house wall came up at last, the one Father swore would never take. I have cut two sprigs for you before the frost could get them, though I doubt they will survive the post. Wrap them in the damp flannel from the scullery and do not let the postman leave them on the mat with the bills. Mrs Pryce at the shop says the Hull train runs late on Thursdays, so give them a day's grace before you despair.

You will ask why I am still digging when the lease ends in March. The answer is the wet ground down by the gate, which gives up its bulbs only if you kneel in it every morning. Mr Haig from the estate came on Tuesday with his measuring chain and said the field would be ploughed by midsummer. I told him the lavender had seeded itself under the sycamore, and he could plough around it if he had the nerve. He went red to the ears and said nothing, which I counted as a small victory.

The sprigs are the wild ones from the bank, the thin-stemmed kind with buds like peppercorns, with a few leaves of the rose tucked in beside them. I pressed the first ones between the pages of Mother's hymnal so the lines would stay true. You always said I wrote worse than I gardened, so I have let the plants say the rest.

The bud at the very end of the longer stem has not opened yet. Stand the sprigs in a jam jar of tap water on your sill, away from the radiator, and it should open within a week. Write and tell me which one goes first. Your loving sister, Maud.