Locals collaborate on bottle tree

WADESBORO — Chipper Long and his spouse Mike Phillips built a bottle tree in their yard with help from neighbors, friends, and family in the community.

The tree features beer, wine and liquor bottles supported by nails, making them fan out like a glass Christmas tree, with room for more. At the top is a feeding area for birds and squirrels.

“It takes a village,” Long said, thanking all the community for their help “emptying” that many bottles.

He says he was inspired by a beautiful angel oak that used to grow at his home and was taken down in a storm. Years later, Hurricane Irma would take down other trees in his yard leaving a stump behind, but he would use that stump to memorialize the angel oak. As a big naturalist, conservationist, and Eagle Scout, he loves to conserve and make beautiful art. Phillips is also a professional artist, which was helpful for building the tree.

“Why not make a unique piece of art that has a little bit of history or a little bit of something that everybody can contribute to?” Long said. “It’s actually a living piece of art with all those bottles.”

“This is just another little quirky thing that we like to do,” he continued. “It’s just a focal point in the yard. Just a conversation piece.”