I grew up in Tennessee and never saw a bottle tree. I thought the ones pictured in the article were pretty, though. So I decided I would put one in my garden, in honor of my roots.
I ordered my “tree” from Plow and Hearth. When it arrived, I stuck it into the ground near a white phlox and began the search for bottles. I wanted all blue ones. Finding them was more challenging than I expected. The Button Store provided one. Treasure Mart provided two more. The others came from a souvenir store near Savannah, GA.
I quite like my two-year-old bottle tree. It glows in the sunshine, lights up the garden on the cloudiest days, and adds a touch of color through the winter.
If you would like to see many examples of bottle trees, some of them quite amazing, take a look at the book, Bottle Trees: …and the Whimsical Art of Garden Glass, by Felder Rushing. It’s available on Amazon. I plan to purchase it soon. Who knows? There might be even more bottle trees coming to Serendipity Gardens!
I definitely like the idea of adding more! I’ve loved this ever since you first “planted” it. Great garden art!
I’d love a bottle tree for my house!
I am always interested in exploring how nature inspires us to be more creative. This directly ties into my work at the Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies (http://www.AItriz.org) around creativity and innovation. It also connects with my work at Post University as the Academic Program Manager for Quality Improvement and Innovation (http://www.postuniversity.edu). I believe that there is a natural dynamic interplay between human creativity, intuition, and sustainability. We see this dance play out every day here at Serendipity Gardens.
Just got my bottle tree and cant wait to allow it to bloom bottles…….it will be a focal point in a traditional African American garden I am starting…..
That sounds wonderful. I hope you post photos.