How to Plant Glass Bottles in the Garden for Pathways

Gardens are places of peace and enjoyment as well as practicality. You may have a dozen herbs and tons of edible produce growing in your serene place, but that makes it no less beautiful, nor does it mean your garden has to be utilitarian. Garden borders outline walkways while adding a finished, elegant look to your garden. Giving your garden pathway a green touch with bottle borders adds sparkle and originality and provides a use for old wine, soda and sparkling beverage containers.

Glass bottles: any color, any size

Bleach

Rubber corks

Superglue

Trowel

Clean and dry your bottles, removing all labels and adhesive. The labels may be decorative, but they'll deteriorate outdoors and make your borders look grungy and ill-kept. Add a few drops of bleach to your cleaning water to disinfect the bottles completely.

Smear a little glue around the inside of each bottle mouth. Push a rubber cork, without holes, into the mouth of each bottle. This prevents soil and insects from getting into your bottles later. Let the corks dry overnight.

Dig a hole for each bottle that will bury it up to an inch below the shoulders. A 20-inch bottle will probably need a hole about 8 inches deep. Space the holes no more than an inch apart so your bottles look clustered.

Turn each bottle upside-down and slip it into a hole. Pack the dirt very firmly around your bottles, making sure they don't move or wiggle much.

Bury a line of bottles close to your garden pathways first. Bury a second line of bottles behind and staggered with the first to create a firm separation between your garden and the walkways.

Fill clear bottles with colorful pebbles, shells, sand, marbles, or twigs before burying them. Avoid monotony by decorating every third bottle this way or by grouping several decorated bottles together.

Alternate colors for an organized look. Scatter colors at random for a wild look.

Add a little wet sand to the soil for well-seated bottles.