How to Make a DIY Bottle Tree

Welcome to my parents backyard! Below is a 10 foot tall bottle tree made out of different diameters of steel round rod. The bottle tree is complete with colored wine bottles my mom collected from friends and a few she purchased online.

My mom and I first discovered bottle trees after a trip to a plant nursery in Independence, Texas called the Antique Rose Emporium. Here are a few pictures I found on Digging of bottle trees at the Antique Rose Emporium.

The Antique Rose Emporium bottle trees are real cedar trees and the colored bottles are simply placed on dead branches. The roses are pretty and smell amazing, but as a kid I remember the Antique Rose Emporium for the bottle trees, funky art, and this picture of a potted archway.

Where did the bottle tree originate?

The idea of a bottle tree has been around since glass bottles were invented around 1600 B.C. in Egypt and Mesopotamia. As the story goes, people believed the whir of the wind through a bottle was the sound of spirits trapped inside. (Remember Aladdin?) Naturally, the next step is to put a cap on the bottle trapping the bad spirits inside. The light of a sunny day would destroy the evil spirits, keeping people safer. People kept bottles by entryways to protect their home from evil spirits. This is how the bottle tree was born.

My mom’s 1st bottle brush tree

I bought my mom a bottle brush tree for Mother’s Day a few years ago thinking that would suffice her bottle tree fixation. The tree had 5 twiggy limbs and died in a tragic accident with a soccer ball to the branches. It never fully recovered. My mom decided a real tree could not live in that spot and thought a steel tree would be perfect. There have a been a few broken bottles, but those are fairly easily replaced.

Bottle Brush Inspiration Tree

Below is the bottle brush inspiration tree my mom found online. A Mississippi artist named Stephanie Dwyer created this bottle brush tree. We love the curvy branches and how the trunk is made up of multiple curved pieces of steel.

Here is the DIY bottle tree my mom made.

The brick wall seen in this picture above is used as a soccer goal. You see why the originally bottle brush tree did not survive this location. My mom needed a steel bottle brush tree! Here is a close up of her carefully crafted steel branches with curves and swirls.

My mom and her bottle tree…

How to make a bottle brush tree

My mom hired a family friend to do the wielding of the 10 foot tall bottle tree. My mom purchased different diameters of steel round rod at a local steel supply store. According to my dad, you can not buy steel round rod at the big box hardware stores. Here are the colored bottles my mom bought to use on the tree.

Bottle Brush tree cost breakdown

• Steel rod- $150
• Colored bottles- $150

The clear and green bottles are old wine bottles she collected from friends. If you are not in the market to DIY a bottle tree, here is a super simple, pretty bottle tree from Amazon that holds 10 bottles!

What do you think of the bottle tree as yard art? It certainly adds a colorful sparkle to a backyard. The bottle tree is fun to look at, sturdy, and a great way to recycle those used wine bottles. Want to see more crafts made by my mom? Don’t miss: