Friday the 13th: Bottle Tree Protection

It's Friday the 13th and though I wouldn't admit to being a superstitious person, I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. That's why we have not one, but FOUR bottle trees in our yard. Never heard of a bottle tree? Pull up a chair.

Cullman, Alabama (photo from Felder Rushing)

I first came across bottle trees on my back-road tours of Georgia looking for interesting historic houses. Back then, you'd have to go very rural and be peeking through hedges to see them. I'd catch a glimpse of them in the backyards of small houses and get really excited. Typically blue and green bottles would be stuck on a small, dead tree or bush. The light shown through the bottles and they just sparkled with color.

Later I learned that the tradition was African and came to the United States with the people forced into slavery. (For a quick history, check out an article about bottle trees at Appalachianhistory.net.) The story behind bottle trees is that evil spirits become attracted to the beautiful colors and get trapped in the bottles. Some say that when the sun hits the bottles, the spirits are destroyed. Bottle trees are set in the yard to pull any evil spirits away from your house.

Husband Building Our Bottle Tree

In the last 10 years or so, bottles trees have become a popular yard art feature. I've seen them for sale everywhere from national chains like Gardener's Supply Co. in Vermont to local craftsmen in the southern states. A year after we moved to New England, I decided I wanted a bottle tree for our garden- that was 14 years ago- and so my husband made one for me. He used a 4 x 4 post and drove some long nails into it. I decided to top it with an old croquet ball. I then purchased a case of blue bottles from an online bottle wholesaler and collected more from friends. I'll never forget the confused look on our Polish neighbors' faces when they first saw our bottle tree.

Over time, I collected so many bottles that I soon need more bottle trees, but by this time, they were becoming popular and I was able to purchase metal ones. Below are some pictures from our garden with our bottle trees.

These bottle trees came from Gardener's Supply Co.

Our homemade bottle tree

Blue bottles on bamboo poles

You can see how easy it is to create your own area of bottle tree protection from evil spirits, but if you're not the crafty type I've found several great shops for bottle trees. Etsy has many shops I like: 

CubbysBottleTrees

BottleTreeBob

CraftsByKinsler

Hopfrogs

I also want you to take a look at Bottletree.com for their great collection of bottle trees and their do-it-yourself kit. 

Bottle Tree DIY Kit

I think Friday the 13th is the perfect day to start working on a bottle tree for your yard or the flowerpot next to your door, don't you?