Message in a Bottle: Garden Holiday Gifts

Everyone is always in search for a gift with a personal touch. Why not send a garden message in a bottle this holiday season? Practice upcycling and creating unique garden gifts even the non-gardener will enjoy.

All you need is:

1. glass bottle (does not matter the kind)
2.  goodies from the garden (bark, needles, leaves, berries)

Follow three simple steps:

1. Remove label from the bottle. (Some labels come off by scraping while others require a soak in water.)

2. Insert garden goodies into the bottle. (See tips below.)

3. Tie decorative ribbon around the top and add a gift tag. Voilà! You have a garden message in the bottle for a festive season.

Here are some tips to help you create a combination of garden goodies.

a. Select garden goodies with a variety of textures and some pop of color. In this bottle, we are combining Ilex opaca (American holly) berries, Ilex aquifolium ‘Angustifolium’ (English holly) leaves, Pinus strobus (white pine) needles, Betula nigra (river birch) bark, and Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes (dawn redwood) cones.

b.. Place the cones and berries you would like on the bottom in the bottle first. This way they will not get caught up on the other goodies in the bottle

c. Hold ingredients up to the bottle to determine if leaves or stem need to trimmed down before inserting it into the bottle. This is like a ship in a bottle. Once it goes in there is not getting it out.

d. You can use a chop stick, straw, or wire to shift ingredients around. Sometimes just gentle shake works as well.

Happy Holidays from everyone at the Scott Arboretum. photo credit: R. Robert

Happy Holidays! If you would like to send a garden “message in a bottle” from the Scott Arboretum, pick one up at the Holiday Greens Sale on Saturday, December 6, 2014.