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DIY Tomato Cage Bottle Tree

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Learn how to make a DIY Southern bottle tree using blue beer bottles - super duper easy to make. Also known as a tomato cage bottle tree.


This tomato cage bottle tree is the story of a project a year in the making.

I started thinking about making this project a year ago.

I bought the supplies for making this project a year ago.

I even blogged about my frustration in not getting to make this project a year ago.

If I knew it was going to be so easy, I would have just made this *$#% project a year ago.

In actuality, it only took about ten minutes to put my bottle tree together.

The hardest part was chugging all that beer 🙂

I used a six pack of Bud Light Platinum, which comes in the prettiest shade of blue. When was the last time you said a bottle of beer was pretty?

And two tomato cages. I bought the cheapest ones that Lowes carries. They have three rings on them.

I used them upside down for the project.

I also used a pair of fence pliers to cut the caging. They are like wire cutters, but made for heavier fencing. I would think regular old wire cutters would probably work also.

The first cage on the left was left intact. I just bent the arms on the top of the cage (which is technically the bottom, but the top in this photo) outward a little so the bottles would not stand straight up, but rather lean outward.

The second cage's top circle was cut off along with about 4 inches of the wire (this will make the bottle holding arms closer to the same length).

I slid cage number one over cage number two, rotated the cages, so the arms would be spaced out equally. Then bent cage number two's arms out at the same angle as the first cage had been bent.

Put your bottle on the arms and you are good to go.

Unless you have a dog.

Lacey started to take quite an interest in the bottle tree, so I made some little stakes out of the left over pieces from the second tomato cage and poked them in the ground at the bottom of the cages in order to make the tree able to withstand a nosy dog.

Score one for the humans.

The moral of this story is you can either spend a year worrying about a project or just do the stupid thing. It might just turn out looking sort of cool. And blue.

Fun DIY Southern bottle tree made with blue beer bottles - super duper easy to make.



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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stacey

    Aren't you smart!! I sent my mom a bottle tree as a gift last year. She loves it!

  2. Joanne Noragon

    Gazing bottles!

  3. [email protected]

    I have always wanted a bottle tree and now thanks to you I am going to make one. Have a couple of tomato cages I'm not using.
    Your looks great! Thanks for the DIY.
    Happy Week.
    Mary

  4. Leslie Harris

    I love it! And I'm off to buy those blue bottles...cold beer anyone?

  5. Carlene @ Organized Clutter

    I think it is a very economical way to have a bottle tree. They are not cheap! Cute!

  6. Faye

    It turned out great! I do the same thing, procrastinate and then when I finally get to it, I wonder why I made such a big deal of it.
    I stopped by to give you a report on the copper pipe in the birdbaths...IT WORKS!!! Even better than I expected! Thank you for that tip!

  7. Musings from Kim K.

    Another project to show my husband. Brilliant.

  8. Melinda

    If we put our minds to 1/2 the projects we
    have, the father along we would be.

    Now I might need one of these! Oh
    golly.

    :o)

  9. [email protected]

    You are so funny! MOST of my projects take AT LEAST a year from hatchin it in my pea brain until fruition.

  10. Jayne

    So clever, love how this looks in the garden 🙂

  11. Olive

    Since I basically live and plan in my head and rarely execute a real project you are my hero. Well done. Love it.

  12. Joani

    I love that idea & I have extra tomato cages that I could already use. Now, for the bottles....I have several empty wine bottles that the bottoms have a deep place for a little water for the butterflies to drink when it's full. I'm working on it. Thanks for sharing.

  13. [email protected] Charm

    Pam,
    Thanks for sharing this neat and THRIFTY bottle tree at my party this week. Love the blue bottle, but not a beer drinker...oh well.

    Blessings,
    Linda

  14. TARYTERRE

    It looks lovely. GREAT job.

  15. Marissa

    ooOo that looks gorgeous!! love those bottles of blue.. looks really cool against the greenery..
    thanks for the tutorial.. need to start drinking colorful bottles of beer..LOL

  16. Lorilee

    Beautiful. Blue is my favorite bottle color for a bottle tree.
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

  17. [email protected]

    Gonna be doing this...right down to drinking those blue bottles dry! You are one smart chick! I sure like this idea!!!
    Good lesson here...just do it, right? See what we can learn from a shoe commercial...haha!
    I'll get started on those bottles tomorrow! Ha!

  18. Vickie @ Ranger 911

    I thought beer was made from a hops vine, but now you're telling me it grows on trees?! Who knew?

    I love the cobalt blue color and best of all, it doesn't need to be watered!

  19. the cape on the corner

    now this is a great idea! love it!

  20. Christine Freeman

    I saw this post and laughed out loud. I have 2 cases of these bottles (+a case of New Castle's clear bottles) in my closet.

    I had lost a pine tree in 2007 to a tornado a few years ago, and cut it off about 15' in the air for the wood peckers. We cut the branches off about 1-2' long for perches. It was the oddest looking thing on the road; part totem pole, part tornado trash, part, "huh"?

    Last year I had the brilliant idea of drilling into it to add long stakes and make a 15' bottle tree out of it. Yeah! But when I went to put the first stake in, it pushed right through the very rotten tree. 🙁 So...

    I've been trying to figure out how to create my tree. You've given me the way! I've also saved the dangly crystals from chandeliers, wind chime-y things and plan to cut a few bottles to dangle as bells. I had thought I'd like to feed X-mas lights through the bottles, but can't figure it out right now.

    So far, it sounds like a mega-display of white trashiness, but I live alone on 6.5 acres and can have as much sculpture as I want without neighbor, city, association, or butt-insky comment. Plus, who needs evil spirits? A Bottle Tree will take care of that!

    I'm so excited. Thank you for the idea!

    • Julie

      Try icicle Christmas lights for your bottles. ..they work great! Evil spirits and creativity rule out over butt-insky neighbors.

  21. [email protected]

    That is a great idea, Pam! Love the blue bottles! Got any more great ideas from last year??? 🙂

  22. Ivy and Elephants

    Such a cool idea, I'd never seen it before!
    The blue bottles are great pops of color in the garden.
    Hugs,
    Patti

  23. Judy Biggerstaff

    You are so green, smart use of your blue bottles, love how they look on the tomato cage.

  24. SIMPLY SUZANNE'S

    Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

    I LOVE the blue bottles!
    Gosh, those would make beautiful vases for bright-colored Summer flowers. Several running down the center of a long table would be quite stunning!
    Thanks for sharing!

  25. Stacy's Snippets

    Gorgeous! I have several of the colored tomato cages that I'm no longer using...I wonder if those would work instead..they are a sturdier wire so it might be hard to bend them....I'll try tonight! Thanks for the great idea!

  26. Jody and Stan

    Very cute idea! The blue bottles are perfect!

    Jody

  27. Inspire Me Heather

    We don't get that kind of beer here but if we did, well I'd be buying LOTS of it - love those bottles!! Your bottle tree turned out super cute, well worth the wait!

  28. Eclectically Vintage

    Great idea - love how it adds color to the garden!
    Kelly

  29. Janel from NellieBellie

    Love the blue. I think I may need a bottle tree as well. Gives me a great excuse to get working on some blue bottles!

  30. moonlake

    I love your bottle tree. What a good idea now you have gave me an idea on putting one in my yard. I have a bottle tree my husband made for me but I would like more.

  31. Violet Muse

    I LOVE it! I would change it up a bit using 3 tomato cages to make it fuller. Guess i'll just have to drink more beer........:)
    And yes, you are so funny; really enjoyed your blog!

  32. Pamela @ Flower Patch Farmhouse

    I got a kick out of drinking all that beer was the tough part. 🙂 Not around here, it is a favorite. Though I restrict myself to one or two over the weekend, it has a tendency to make me chubby.

  33. Vena

    I love this! How DIY and REYCYCLE!
    I have always wanted one! Now I can do it myself!?

  34. Judy Newman

    I love your idea of the tomato cages,for the bottle bush.I just ,afe 2 of them.On top I but a pot with flowerd,it seemed to finish it.
    I am putting them in a charity auction,hope they sell