What to do with wine bottles…
If you collect wine bottles for any reason, see these ideas and examples that prove that anyone can dazzle up the garden with glass bottles to edge a garden bed or path. Your paths will look pretty when the sun shines through the colored glass.
Lark Kulikowski’s blue border
Lark Kulikowski volunteered at her local recycling center and brought home a lot of blue bottles. She says, “I lined a couple of my paths with these bottles that go through my gardens.” In Winter, as the sun shines through them, they sparkle in the snow. I get some huge smiles from many people who view the gardens. No, I don’t have lights in them.
Lark spaces out her bottle an inch or two
Chartreuse green contrasts with this section of Lark’s border
How to make a bottle border
- Soften the soil by watering the area
- Use a garden hose to make straight or curved guides lines
- Dig down about 6 inches with a square edged shovel
- Set bottles evenly in the trench and fill in the dirt firmly
Nell Stelzer says, ” For my bottle edging, I dug a trench just wide enough to put the bottles in and deep enough so there is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches of the bottle above the ground.
Nell’s wine bottle edging before and after
Nell says, “We had over two inches of rain the night before this so it was a muddy mess but our clay soil is so hard otherwise. I finally have enough bottles to finish this area but waiting on rain to soften the area.”
Nell’s bottle collection!
Tiny plants grow as the bottles age!
Katrina Lounsbury’s green bottles edge her cottage garden
Sandra Parrill’s elegant hose guides
Sandra Parrill’s ‘no dig method’ makes an easy flower bed border that serves as a hose guide, too. She tells us, “I use the tall blue bottles mounted on rebar to keep my hoses from dragging across my flower beds. The fence behind hides my compost piles, it was made of scrap lumber from a local lumber mill, free for the picking up.
Would you guess Sandra Parrill’s border serves as a hose guide?
“More blue hose guide wine bottles. I’m running out of bottles, I have to drink faster, I guess!” Sandra says.
Tips:
- Use a curved hose or string and stakes to make the bottles even.
- If you space out your bottles, use a wood block or a bottle to make spaces even
- Line up bottle along an existing brick or concrete walk
- Don’t use bottles to edge a veggie bed, just in case of breakage
- To prevent weeds among your bottles, use weed killer in a spray bottle or a vinegar and water mixture.
Sydney Minor’s new blue border add color to a brick walk
Pick a natural color scheme if you want. Greens are easier to find
Sue Langley’s butterfly water station
“I use a group of five green wine bottles as a place for butterflies to gt some moisture. The shallow indentations in the bottoms are perfect for their size. I didn’t bother to remove the labels for just five, but now that I know how to easily remove the bottle labels, I will next time!”
Becky Norris’s door arbor garden border
Becky Norris chose all green bottles for her door arbor garden border. Green bottles are more common and can be a natural looking option.
More:
How to EASILY remove bottle labels for garden crafts — $0. cost!
Birds and bees, and Blue bottle trees — Bottles trees
Blue bottles and beer bread — Where to find blue bottles
Heavenly cobalt glass in the garden — If you like blue
