Colour realism tattoo of pink and yellow roses, an orange flower and a blue hibiscus with green leaves, on an upper arm.

Roses and hibiscus on an upper arm

Realism · Upper arm · Colour · Photo

The tattoo shows a pink rose in the centre, a yellow rose above it, an orange flower and a large blue hibiscus lower down, joined by green leaves and swirling stems. The shading is smooth and detailed, with soft highlights on the petals and dark tones in the rose centres. Bright colours dominate against a dark background, and the design wraps around the upper arm.

Realism Botanical Upper arm Rose Hibiscus Flower Leaves Stem

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Tom,

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The blue hibiscus opened on Tuesday, the morning after the frost that took the last of the dahlias. I thought it had given up on us. It had been sulking in the corner of the glasshouse since August, all leaf and no bud, and I'd half decided to sell it to the chap from the inn at Long Rigg Gap. Then there it was, one flower the size of my palm, blue as the sky over the pass before the cloud comes down. I went out in my slippers to look at it and forgot the kettle entirely.

You'll remember the old lorry that used to bring the rose stock up the pass road every spring. Your grandad swore that driver could find his way over the top blindfold, and maybe he could, but he never once got the roses there without a bruise. The yellow ones came from a nursery in Kendal, the pinks from a man who wouldn't give us his name. Every crate went straight into the cold frame. Nothing up here grows easily, so we stopped expecting it to.

Last week a walker came in out of the rain, soaked to the knees, and asked whether we sold anything that would survive a winter outside. I told him nothing did, not really, and he laughed and bought a pot of red primroses anyway. I wanted to tell him about the hibiscus, how it comes from somewhere warm and gets carried up here by people who never quite leave their gardens behind. Instead I wrapped the primroses in newspaper and let him go.

I'm keeping the blue one inside now, by the paraffin heater. Come up at Easter if the road's clear. Bring your proper boots. The bloom will probably be gone by then, but I'll save you the petals.

Love, Mam