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Beyond Plants

There is more to the garden than the plant

The concept of man-made additions coming to the aid of nature is not a new one. It is as old as time itself. -Peter Coats

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BOTTLE TREES

A bottle tree made from a fallen tree branch

more bottle trees - click here!

A bottle tree made of welded metal

What is a bottle tree? A bottle tree is a southern tradition that is said to have African roots. Bottles are placed on branches or trees to trap evil spirits, which are then destroyed by the sun through the glass. Nowadays, folks put them in the garden because the sun on the colored glass looks so pretty, but a little bad karma stopper never hurts! See the photos below - these were made with real branches, and the one with tiny bottles was made from a vicitm of the drought - a dead holly bush. I spray painted the branches blue, and sometimes I spray them white, but they look great au natural as well. If you are good with a blowtorch and rebar, you can make a metal bottle tree. Or, there is a nifty website, Bottletree.com that sells rebar bottle trees and colored bottles as well.

Bottle tree made from two small branches spray painted blue. The one on the right sports minature bottles.

Gardening Questions? Click here to ask gardengirl.

Garden making is creative work,just as much a painting or writing a poem.It is a personal expression of self, an individual conception of beauty. -Hanna Rion

An appealing garden has plants, yes, but it has more. One of the things that makes each garden individual is the trellises, arbors, fences, walls, and garden art that express the gardeners interests and personality. Here, we will look at the ultimate expression of a gardener's taste - garden art.

Southern Garden Traditions - Yard Art and more!

Art in the garden can take many forms, from the classical, such as this cement statue of a reading child, or whimsical, elegant, childlike (and child-made), religious, contemporary, or thought-provoking.

Gnomes - folks love 'em or hate 'em!

The figure at right is childlike and fun. Many artistic objects for the garden are metal due to its durability.

For more art, visit our GARDEN ART GALLERY!

Southern - inspired ideas you might try in your own garden:

Bottle edging - Southerners have been the ultimate in reuse and recycling from way back, and one favorite reuse of bottles in the garden is bottle edging. See the edging of bottles around this horse trough pond below. For this edgng, I used clear Arizona Tea bottles, green Heineken Bottles, and brown IBC Root beer bottles, amoung others.

See more bottle trees in our bottle tree gallery!