Want to add a conversation piece to your yard? Bottle trees - created by adding colorful glass bottles to the tips of tree branches – add a unique element to your landscape. Once thought to “trap bad spirits at night, which are then destroyed in the next day’s sunlight,” bottle trees originated in Africa and were brought to the United States by slaves in the 1700s. Today, some believe bottle trees keep bad spirits away from your yard.
Bottle trees are predominantly seen in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, but are found worldwide. You can create your own bottle trees in your yard or garden using a tree trunk and branches or even rebar if you don’t have a tree that will work.