July birth flower tattoo ideas and meaning

Larkspur and water lily, described properly

Larkspur flowers sit along an upright spike, opening from the bottom up. Each flower has five petal like sepals spread in a loose face, and the uppermost one extends backward into a long hollow spur, usually 1 to 2 cm. In the center, two to four small true petals cluster into a shape gardeners call the bee. The leaves are cut into narrow thread like segments, which gives the whole plant a feathery outline.

A water lily has 20 to 30 petals arranged in overlapping ranks, broad at the base and tapering to a rounded point, spiralling out from a dense crowd of yellow stamens. The flower sits on a long stalk that runs down to a rhizome in the mud, and it either floats or holds a few centimeters above the surface. The pads are round, leathery, and cut by a V shaped notch running to the center.

The parts that identify each plant

• The spur at the back of each larkspur flower. Without it the spike reads as generic.
• The feathery thread like leaves, which separate larkspur from lupin or foxglove.
• The notched round pad, which is what tells a viewer a water lily is a water lily.
• The visible ring of yellow stamens at the center of the lily.
• Flowers opening from the bottom of the larkspur spike upward, with buds at the top.

Sizes: what the spike and the bowl each need

On a larkspur spike, the individual flowers have to stay above about 6 mm across. Below that the spurs and the faces merge and the spike turns into a fuzzy stripe with a feathered edge. A stem carrying eight to twelve flowers at 8 mm each, with gaps, lands at 12 to 18 cm. That fits an inner forearm, a spine, or the outside of a calf comfortably.

The water lily needs 8 cm minimum and looks better at 12 to 20 cm. The problem at small sizes is the petal ranks: three or four overlapping layers need visible skin between them, and at 6 cm you have less than a millimeter per gap. Artists usually cut the petal count to twelve or fourteen drawn edges and leave the outer rank open rather than closing every shape.

Styles that suit each one

Larkspur suits fine line and dotwork, where the feathery leaves can be suggested with short strokes and the spurs stay crisp. It also works in a botanical illustration treatment with the stem drawn full height and a couple of loose buds at the top. The water lily has a long history in Japanese and neo traditional work, where it sits alongside koi and water linework, and that is the treatment that ages best because the outlines are heavy and the shapes are simple.

What people usually ask for

• Larkspur spike down the spine, fine line, 18 to 25 cm
• Two crossed larkspur stems with feathery foliage, 12 to 15 cm, forearm
• Water lily with two pads and water lines, neo traditional, 15 to 20 cm, thigh
• Water lily in black and grey with stippled shading, 12 cm, shoulder
• Larkspur with a name or date running alongside the stem

Grouping July with other months

A larkspur spike is the tallest flower on most birth month lists, which makes it a useful spine or centerline for a family piece. Several artists build the group around it: the larkspur runs vertically and the other months branch off it as short side stems. That gives the set a structure instead of a row, and it extends easily if another child arrives.

The water lily is harder to combine. Its horizontal bowl shape and the pads around it take up a lot of width, so it tends to sit alone as the anchor of a larger back or thigh piece with the other months tucked around the edges. If a set has to stay under 15 cm, most people use the larkspur for July and leave the lily for a standalone tattoo later.