BottleTreeHistory. Glass “bottletrees” have been around for centuries, first as icons of superstitious beliefs based on a three-thousand year old Arabian folk tale, and now increasingly as eccentric but popular home-made glass garden ornaments. Bottletrees have a rich cultural background and provide a unique and recyclable option for homemade art. The practice hails from the Congo, but gardeners of any ilk will find bottletreegarden art a fun and fanciful way to brighten the natural landscape. Learn more here. They are a beautiful way to introduce garden art to any landscape. Bottletrees make a nice focal point, adding vertical color and interest. I especially love the way the colored bottles glimmer in the morning and evening sunlight. They even have a somewhat interesting history, read on... History of BottleTrees - Eudora Welty's photo in the 1930s.(BOTTLES NOT INCLUDED) Our "Awesome Blossom" bottletree holds 49 Full size bottles ! Celebrate the beauty of colored glass in your garden or yard for some southern charm. Coming across one of these creative garden accessories, maybe you’ve wondered how you could add a bottletree to your garden. I sure did. And this year, one of our treasured trees in our backyard was infected by a fungus and died. We don’t have the heart to cut it down. What does a bottletree symbolize? When African slaves arrived in the U.S., they created bottletrees from dead trees or large limbs next to their quarters and adorned them with glass bottles scavenged from garbage piles. Artistic bottletree made with twisting rebar displayed in my parent’s garden. Another idea for bottles in the garden. I hope you had fun learning about bottletrees and the history/folklore that surrounds them. Although this garden in Dallas is typically noted for its Japanese-inspired design, the presence of a bottletree demonstrates how this garden feature of African and African American origin has evolved to become a component in a range of garden designs. Installing a bottletree in the garden today can be an homage to people of the past. Creating a tree is a nod to history, and a bit of culturally influenced art. The Queensland BottleTree is an oddly shaped but stunning deciduous tree that grows to around 18-20 metres tall and has a dense, rounded canopy that can reach 5-12 metres in diameter. (Trees may be smaller in cultivation or cooler climates.) Continue reading about BottleTree growth. Bottletrees are just that: either a tree, stake, or tree-like shape festooned with glass bottles. The bottles can be any shape or size and can be hung or attached neck down with large nails or pegs. Bottletree Fall arrived on Friday with a last gasp (I hope) of oppressively hot and humid weather. Despite the mugginess, I worked outdoors with a circular saw, cordless drill, and concrete all morning, creating a bottletree in the back garden. The American BottleTree has a rich historyin Americana that reaches back to Africa and tracks with the story of slavery in the southern US and more recently adopted as garden art in today’s backyards. Our Story. What is a bottletree? bottletrees are “Kongo-derived,” with roots on African soil.Over the years the bottletree has become a very unique Southern gardening tradition. Everyone wants their yard or garden to be unique in some way.
