Grandfathers Tree Becomes A Bottle Tree

9 years ago

alabamaicole has one, plantman71 is going too...my Grandfather Knight planted three cedars around his home in the 1920's. They survived until April 27,2011. One still survives as a bottle tree. (They were heavily damaged back in 1993 - The Storm Of The Century , but they survived.)

The bottle tree started with garbage left from the storm being hung off the tree stump. Later nails to hold bottles , bowling balls and odd n' ends left from the clean up. Somethings from garbage that others STILL bring and dump because they NEEDED a place to dump their garbage and dead dogs. Neighbors are sooooooOOOOOO nice here.

Reason for this post is for garden art lovers as are alabamaicole and plantman71....may there bottle trees grow with tender loving care....

www.felderrushing.net/MojaveBottleTrees.htm

hope it works....joseph

This post was edited by bulzi on Sun, May 19, 13 at 12:13

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Comments (7)

plantman71
9 years ago
I all ready have mine growing. Two years ago the dopeheads next door burned down their house. It got two of my big pecan trees several large hackberrys, all my shade plants, and two storage houses. It was up to my house before I could stop it. Long store short, My son, my son-in-law and I had just put in post to put in a fence between me and all the goings on next door. The fire got most of them, 4 was only partly burned. I had already put in some nail and hung some small bottles. I am looking for some longer nails to hang a big box of old coke bottles. I know I have the nails, somewhere. I wander how many of my coke bottles will walk off. Then I will have to add another limb to my tree. Since I never knew my grandfathers, I a making a Grandfathers for my grandkids.(Really for me)
bulzi
Original Author
9 years ago
Can not imagine 'dopeheads' being anywhere but here. The fire had to put a lot of shock through your nervous system, seeing what you were losing and not knowing where or when it would stop. Traumatic. Dopers stripe their own home of copper and live in darkness. We have thought about a small community garden to get them slowly involved - nothing yet.

Life is full of sour happenings it seems, that can become very polarizing.

Gardening is great therapy for me - mentally and physically. I am aware that I shut down at times because so much needs to be done now (or what can be put off). This happens more often than I want.

Oh, "blue bottles" are suppose to capture the worst spirits my sis said. I am going for all blue now, because of living here. It would not surprise me to awake tomorrow and the tree be totally stripped.

I got radishes yesterday and the Dahlias keep coming up. I quit counting. Time to pot up some more rooted cutting this coming week. ........life in the fast lane.
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Donna, Wooden dowels. I would take post hole diggers, dig a hole, take one bag of concrete. Pour the concrete around a 4" x 4" post in the hole you dug. The next day- Take a drill bit the size of the wooden dowel thickness and drill holes for your dowel branches. You can use screws with closed hoop ends (eye screws). Rope, shoe string leather, or wire your bottles to the eye screws on the branches. I also would polyurethan the entire wooden structure before hanging the bottles. I believe the open mouth up was the original way that a bottle tree was meant to be hung. They were meant to ward off evil spirits. The scary sound of the wind over the mouth of a bottle would certainly do that. The different depths of rain in the bottles will make the notes vary and it will become what is called a wind organ. My concern would be that the bottles would become mosquito breeding beds and the bottles may get water stains and other bugs on the inside. (??????) I'm speculating. I have considered this for my own garden, so I've thought about it a lot. Hope something here helps. I cant wait to see your bottle collection!!!!! Susie
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That's an old southern tradition and the original form of a bottle tree. In the area of the South where part of my family is from, those are called "spirit trees". Hanging the bottles from the branches of a large tree is supposed to keep the bad spirits from entering the house. Some folks believe that the spirits are attracted by the sparkling colored light, enter the bottle and get trapped. I've never known it to fail. Yes the bottles get filled up and you have do to empty them occasionally but not as often as you might think.
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Kirk, Yes there is a product called MOSQUITO DUNKS. They float around in bird baths and water features and do not hurt birds. They keep larva from hatching or something like that. (?????) I could cut one up and put a bit in each bottle if the sun does not evaporate the water (while it is evaporating the Spirits dont cha know). James, No the bottles are unfortunatly not old. Ebay had some red bottles that were listed around $30. which is too rich for my Charlie Brown Tree. My house trim color is a brick red. So red bottles plus amber bottles equals brick red when you look at them together. That is all of the math I know and that made me dizzy. (You see who your dealing with now.) I live life on the happy side of the brain. flowerlady- If I could do it over again I would have asked for more of those branches. They make great indoor decor like curtain hangers, outdoor trelises, twinkle lite trees for entertaining, ect. The secret is in the staining and poly treatment. They become richer. Susie
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Another book you might enjoy is Reading the Forested Landscape, by Tom Wessels. I'd want to add Beeches and American Chestnuts just cause they're lovely. Such wonderful species you have. The warmer temps we've been having are hard on the Sugar Maples here. They are so graceful and magnificent in the fall with their color, and their sweet scent in the spring. They don't seem to annoy other trees and plants, growing hard by, but the roots are in a woodsy spot covered with leaf litter, not under a lawn where there's more of a struggle for resources. The Osage Orange used to be used as fence posts, as it takes them years to rot [15, I think]. People used to grub them out[dig ]to use. Black walnut can be a strong allergen, although I hear it's a handsome tree. The idea of leaving most of the woods to grow would give you a chance to observe which are pioneer species [like tulip trees]and which are coming into their own now. What do you mean by land management exactly? Do you mean as a woodlot, for firewood, for hardwoods, for furniture? Since it'll be another 50 or 75 years or more before the trees are good sized, you might as well grow it for enjoyment. It's most efficient in terms of growth, & production of oxygen, the way it is. Forests have been working out growing, competing for sun, pulling carbon atoms out of the air, making food, cooperating with bugs and animals, for millions of years. The pioneer species slow down, as the big guys crowd them out. You get to watch a miracle in progress. Don't be afraid to make your mark and influence things, but you don't have to. If you have shaggy edges, you might want to add some native ornamentals, by the road. One thing, sometimes, cutting back along an edge in a way that exposes quite tall skinny trunks, without the protection of buffer trees of an intermediate height, can expose them to wind damage. Good luck !
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alabamanicole
9 years ago
My nekkid bottle tree.
bulzi
Original Author
9 years ago
WOW, looks like a REAL tree. How far does the root go down. :) Wish that I knew how to 'computer' better.

I am looking for someone local to wield rebarb together to make more limbs for grandfather.
alabamanicole
9 years ago
It's on a slope, so the stand is buried on one side and the uphill end is stake down under that mulch.

And I'm still not sure it won't blow over one of these days!

I got it from Reseda Nursery; there is a guy that makes them for the nursery but I don't know his (or her) name.
plantman71
9 years ago
I can get started on my tree now. Bulzi, Thanks for the nails. It was good to put a face to the posting.
bulzi
Original Author
9 years ago
Ditto, plantman....a most beautiful place. The shade you have is wonderful....U R for sure The Plant Man !, plantman71. NeVeR seen so many plants for one mans yard and bet you know the name of every one of them.

Grandfathers Tree Becomes A Bottle Tree

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