Creative Garden Tattoos

Some people's love of gardening goes deep: skin deep. Get inspired by these cool tattoo ideas from the garden.

By: Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Photo by Jason Travis

Farm Fresh Ink

More and more gardening fans are advertising their love of gardening with a bounty of clever botanical ink. Celebrity chef Hugh Acheson and home chef Amy Ellis share an affinity for garden-themed tattoos.

Nature Lover

"I've always been a nature lover and I also love cooking," says Atlanta's Amy Ellis, who sports a fruit and veggie tattoo on her arm.

Green Goddess

"My fruits and veggies tattoo features my favorite produce both to grow and to eat: eggplant, asparagus, red-leaf lettuce, Brussels sprouts, green bell pepper, apple, orange, grapes, cherries, grapes and tomato," says Amy Ellis, who works in technology.

Celebrity Chef

Celebrity chef, restaurant mogul and cookbook author (A New Turn in the South) Hugh Acheson shows his devotion to food and farm fare in his garden tattoo homage to a favorite veg.

The Man With the Garden Arm

Why a radish? "It was the first vegetable I successfully grew," says Hugh Acheson. "I also grew up eating radish sandwiches."

Chef's Choice

Chef and co-owner with his wife Lisa of Atlanta's Home Grown restaurant, Kevin Clark is an avid gardener and grows many of the vegetables that show up on his menu in a garden behind his restaurant.

F(arm)-Full

Restaurant owner Kevin Clark boasts a number of garden tattoos on his arm including a peach ("because I am from Georgia"), a parsnip and a hog.

Eat Your Veggies!

Kevin Clark sports a vividly detailed image of broccoli, a constant reminder of his love of food and gardening.

Peach State

Home Grown restaurant owner Kevin Clark wears an homage to his home state, a Georgia peach, on his bicep.

Skin in the Game

Noted charcuterie-chef Kevin Ouzts is the owner of The Spotted Trotter, an Atlanta destination for artisanal charcuterie, bacon, sausage and much more.

Artichoke Ink

Kevin Outzs' tattoo was inspired by the logo to his first restaurant: an artichoke. He also sports a pig tattoo.

Secret Garden

Artist Lindy Lane has a number of garden-related tattoos that remind her of her parents and grandparents, who all shared a love of gardening and farming. "All of my garden-related tattoos are sentimental, nostalgic symbols for people and places in my life," says Lane.

One Tomato, Two Tomatoes

"The green tomato on my leg is for my grandparents, who grew up on farms in Georgia," says Lindy Lane. "I spent a lot of my childhood on their land in Jesup, Georgia where they grew many fruits and veggies. My 'Mema' always made friend green tomatoes with her fresh tomatoes."

Sweet Memories

"I have lemons and mint leaves on my foot that represent home and my mother," says Lindy Lane. "I grew up on St. Simons Island in Southeast Georgia. Growing up, my mother spent a fair amount of time outside gardening in the yard. We had a lemon tree and my mother would often ask me to pick lemons and/or mint for dinner, be it for sweet tea or seafood."

The Beet Generation

Sean Dettman works in technology in Atlanta and his garden-themed tattoo pays homage to members of the Beat Generation like William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.

Garden Tattoo

Sean Dettman admits he's not much of a gardener. "But I have been known to water my friends' plants when they are out of town," he says. His beet-themed tattoo is a play on words, referencing the Beat Generation of writers like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. A scar incurred in a bicycle accident has since slightly marred his veggie- and writer-tribute.

Seed Starter

Tori Lyons is an assistant horticulturalist with the outdoor horticulture department at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Maple Love

Horticulturalist Tori Lyons has many reasons for choosing to ornament herself with a maple seed, "the colors can be so vibrant, and the veining is so intricate they sometimes resemble feathers. They also remind me of being a kid and watching them fall to the ground like little helicopters. I like that something so small can fight the odds and create something so large and strong as a maple tree."