Beneath mossy oaks, this 65-acre property offers so much more beyond its flourishing blooms.
There, wisteria laces the tops of ancient oaks, their limbs sleeved in resurrection ferns and dripping mosses.
Palm trees peek from behind houses.
Credit:ROBBIE CAPONETTO
Flower beds go Technicolor.
Its spring, and everything is waking up.
ROBBIE CAPONETTO
Beyond the entrance, flashes of pink wink beneath the trees.
Tom McGehee, director of the property, enjoys sharing the estate’s history.
Although Bellingrath welcomes visitors year-round,azalea seasonlights up the grounds like no other.
Small blooms and large onesmore than 250,000mingle in the hedges, their branches heavy with sun-dappled petals.
They look as if theyve always been there.
The flowers go back nearly a century, and its a love story for the ages.
But he was also an avid fisherman and talked about it all the time.
By the end of the appointment, the physician had a prescription: Buy the property.
Credit:ROBBIE CAPONETTO
When Mr. Bellingrath purchased the land in 1917, he used it as a fishing retreat, McGehee explains.
However, Bessie, his wife, saw the potential in the grounds and set about establishing a garden.
While Walter always pinched pennies, Bessies generosity was legendary, especially with the people who worked there.
The economic downturn loomed large, and the situation for many families in the Mobile area worsened.
Thus the gardens grew, and the flowers multiplied.
Bessies health declined during the 1940s, and she died in 1943.
He dedicated the rest of his life to the landscape shed loved.
Credit:ROBBIE CAPONETTO
Credit:ROBBIE CAPONETTO
