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One of those familiar phrases that leaders never really want to hear in nonprofit circles is that you are “one of the best-kept secrets.” Bellingrath Gardens & Home, now open to the public for almost 94 years, is hardly in a position to be considered as a “secret” place, and yet sometimes we are astounded in hearing how many people, including locals, do not know about us. When I began working here in September 2020, I quickly realized that we had lots of work to do in getting the word out, so to speak. Back then, our marketing program consisted primarily of promoting the wildly successful Magic Christmas in Lights, then on its 25th year, with a small budget remaining to promote our spring azalea blooms. We weren’t advertising year-round. We weren’t working to attract any of the millions of summer tourists visiting our Baldwin County and Mobile County beach communities. We weren’t even working to attract people coming to Mobile for Mardi Gras!
Public gardens around the U.S. have seen nothing short of a reinvention of themselves since the 1990s. With the rough “birth” of the modern public garden occurring, in the South at least, in the late 1970s/early 1980s (my estimate), the U.S. saw many new gardens come into being. A prime example of this would be Atlanta Botanical Garden, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary last week. From the 1990s thru today, the vast majority of public gardens across the U.S. have seen skyrocketing attendance, this propelled by cutting-edge horticulture, innovative programs, blockbuster events, and seasonal festivals. Bellingrath has lagged behind on many of these trends, as evidenced by our annual attendance being below 100,000 by 2020, but this is now changing. With the work we’ve done over the past five years, BGH is poised to reach for the proverbial golden ring now. My thinking is that BGH should have seen attendance numbers of 250,000 for quite a few years, and I feel that we have an achievable goal for the future is 350,000. So, … how can we get there?!
It’s called marketing, ya’ll! Since I’ve been at BGH, we’ve doubled our marketing budget. We’ve expanded the department, led by Olivia Garrett, to two full-time employees. (Our second full-timer is Maria Lawrence, who creates all of our designs and layouts, among other things.) Around two years ago, we worked with Hummingbird Ideas to revamp our website, peeling off from the new brand we revealed in October 2023. We’ve invested in beautiful videography, including fantastic drone shots taken around the year and new “made-for-television” commercials, such as our elegant one that debuted in 2023. Today, we have a brand-new commercial created by Kris Skoda/Skoda Works Media & Marketing that is just now starting to air on local channels. (Listen for BGH’s own Juanita Waites lovely voice-over.) Staying in the traditional advertising media realm, we continue to invest in three billboards located on I-10 (one near the Mississippi/Alabama line, another at the I-65/I-10 split) and Hwy. 90 at Bellingrath Road. We’re hearing good things about our new billboards and ask you to notice them when you next drive by. Lastly, we’ve invested hugely in our social media presence, with our Facebook followers growing from 65,000 in January 2025 to 85,000 in January 2026! Woot-woot, ya’ll!!
And so, ya’ll, where is this taking us? Well, in short, … forward. Bellingrath Gardens & Home, especially with current investments and future ones based on our Master Plan, becomes more compelling and relevant every day. New initiatives like our STEM Education Program, led by Felicia Henderson, reach youngsters every day. The quiet, but steady, stewardship of the Bellingrath Home by our stalwart Home Museum Director (and local legend), Tom McGehee, assures that we are correct in how we move forward within our history. The newly relaunched volunteer program, led by Jack Pruitt, is already offering opportunities for folks to engage further, or to re-engage. Our rentals program, led by newly-hired Programs and Special Events Manager Lyn Acocella-Medina, shows everyone that we are a venue to be considered for life’s special moments. And the Horticulture program, led by Jeremy Schmidt, continues to shine as we revamp overgrown garden spaces while reimagining others, build world-class plant collections, and showcase strikingly beautiful designs for all to see. Join me in helping us to achieve more greatness going forward, and when you’re ready to support us with a special gift, please reach out to Dr. Cory Sparks, BGH’s Development Director, to find out how.
We’re here for you, and we’re moving forward while being anchored in our rich past.