Gardening With Confidence – Add a Bottle Tree

June 8, 2009 at 9:18 am · Filed under Beyond Bunnies - Garden Art

Bottle Tree at Helen's Haven

Ever notice how some gardeners just seem to garden with ease, with not a care in the world?  Their garden grows well – better than yours, in fact,  despite all your efforts.  One question.  Do you have a bottle tree?

Bottle trees are the ultimate accent to gardening with confidence.   Think about it, a bottle tree allows you to garden without fear of haints, evil spirits, and other things that go bump in the night.  It’s bad enough we have to garden with deer, rabbits, copperheads, voles, moles, skeeters and such.  I can bare that.  But haints?  Ain’t no way!

From Peggy Titus garden open for Raleigh Garden Conservancy Open Days tour 2008

Bottle trees are rich in southern history.  The idea of bottle trees was introduced to the south from African Congo slaves.   Here, bottle trees were used to protect homes from evil spirits whereby trapping spirits inside the bottle, corking ’em in, and tossing into the river where they could do no harm.

Found on a drive by in Greensboro, NC

This African tradition lives on in the south.  Whenever I see a bottle tree, I pause to reflect on the good spirits who started them.

If you want to improve your gardening, garden with confidence, get a bottle tree.  If for no other reason than to add color, conversation, and control  in the garden.

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