Changing the Bottle Tree

I have had a whimsical bottle tree in the garden since 2014 and it has gone through a few changes. The original was a lilac tree that just decided to stop growing, so I trimmed it to become the first bottle tree. I loved it but eventually the bush rotted out at the base and it fell down. I had grown beans and morning glories up the frame as well and it looked so pretty.

I tried a couple of ideas when relocating the tree and finally settled on the corner of the fence garden. We had used branches off a lilac tree once again and bolted it onto the fence post. But alas, over the years the branch dried out and started breaking off with the weight of the bottles.

This past summer I neglected the garden, not because I wanted to but because I had knee replacement surgery at the beginning of July. Not my choice of dates but you have to take what is given you else I might of had to wait a long time. In the spring I started hunting around for a metal bottle tree that didn’t have a huge price tag with it.

I found what I was looking for on Amazon (what can’t you find on there?) The bonus was there was a price reduction and free shipping so I purchased two of them for about $60. I was a bit disappointed when they arrived as they didn’t seem as big as I had visualized. There was a small piece to push into the ground but it didn’t look like it would keep the tree stable. It was put beside the wooden frame of the garden, pushed in as far as it could go and then a small bracket was attached to the wood to hopefully keep it upright.

It has held up really well all summer and we had some terrific thunder and wind storms. The real test will be over the winter.

This tree has all green bottles on it. There were sunflowers growing in the little garden but they have finished. This is the garden where the original bottle tree was and the lilac bush that was there has sent up several shoots this year. I hope eventually it will be big enough for a bottle tree, but until then I’m going to plant some Egyptian walking onions in the area.

The second bottle tree is all decked out in blue bottles. It is fastened to the wooden frame around the sign post garden. I like the look of the new bottle trees, but in my heart I still prefer the original tree. Time will tell.

The previous bottle tree looked lovely in winter and I’m hoping the new ones give me lots of photo opportunities as well.

Here is a photo of the fence garden, taken early afternoon, yesterday. The old bottle tree has gone from behind the birdhouse. The wren uses this house in the spring, so I’m wondering if it will notice the bottle tree has gone, as it loved to perch on it while looking around the garden.

Have you considered a bottle tree for your garden?