Bottle Trees Revealed

If you will remember, when I posted a blog about bottle trees I promised I would reveal my bottle tree today. Mine is the one on the bottom, the one with predominantly green bottles on the old cedar tree I cut down. Gerianne's is the colorful one on a metal tree her handyman made for her. I love hers and wish mine was more colorful, but you have to work with what you have and nice neighbor had all those green bottles (my favorite color) he didn't mind me confiscating for the tree. Both bottle trees sparkle in the sun and add much needed color in the winter when little else is in bloom.

Felder Rushing visited my blog and looked at the pictures. He tells me bottle trees go back over 2000 years to the days of geniis in the lamp. Superstitious people would put bottles outside in hopes of catching bad spirits. Felder also says bottle trees were brought to America by northern Africans (who he says invented bottles). He should know, he has photographed bottle trees all over the world. Felder also says bottle trees are generally a Southern "thang". I have never seen a bottle tree up north in New England but that doesn't mean the north doesn't have any. If anyone has knowledge of bottle trees-let me know! I'd love to hear if there are some in the north and see pictures-which I will post with permission.


I had to post this picture of my camellia. I did not post it in the initial camellia posting, though there is a picture of it prior to bloom. This shrub is SO loaded with blooms it appears pink from a distance. The ground under the shrub is literally covered with pink petals and this morning when I got close to the camellia, I thought I had disturbed a beehive because of all the bees humming. All of these blooms are inundated with bees doing their job pollinating the camellia. I have had the privilege of seeing camellia seeds and hope I get many more this year. I enjoy the seedpods but if I did want more camellias, I think the best way to make more is by cuttings or air layering. Neither of which I have done with my camellias. The seeds look like miniature apples on the shrub and are yet another ornamental feature of this great landscape shrub.

in the garden....