The Directions for Making a Garden Bottle Tree

You can use soda bottles as long as they fit over the tree branches.

The bottle tree is a type of lawn and garden decoration that traces its origins to African slaves in the southern United States. These slaves believed that they could use glass bottles to trap evil spirits. They would arrange bottles, usually blue, on tree limbs as a type of spiritual protection for the home. You can create your own garden bottle tree as a historical reminder, a spiritual symbol or simply as a decorative accent.

Instructions

1. Select the proper tree. A tree that has commonly been used for a bottle tree is the crepe myrtle, but you can use other varieties of trees as well as long as their branches will accommodate bottles. Dead trees are another popular choice due to the lack of foliage to obstruct the bottles. Choose a tree that is in a sunny area, because the light will accentuate the colors of the bottles.

2. Empty and rinse out some glass bottles. Blue is the traditional color used on bottle trees, but you can use bottles with other colors as well if you like.

3. Place the mouth of the bottle over a slender limb on the tree. If there is foliage in the way, you may have to strip this off first. Although you will need a slender limb, the limb must also be strong enough to support the weight of the bottle.

4. Push the limb into the mouth of the bottle as far as it will go.

5. Place multiple bottles on the same tree.

References

• University of Arkansas: Plant of the Week --- Bottle Tree