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The next time you find yourself in Bellingrath Gardens’ Café enjoying our Coca-Cola sliders, you might notice on the brick wall behind you an early 1930s photograph of a massive azalea being transported into the Gardens on a repurposed Coca-Cola truck. Bessie Bellingrath was a plant collector, and even before Bellingrath Gardens was founded, azaleas were one of her favorite plants to collect!
Bessie’s original azalea collections were sadly lost decades ago, but as part of our proud celebration of her “artistry and genius,” Bellingrath Gardens is rebuilding it—prominently displaying them so that others can feel the joy and invigoration that comes from a connection to plant life, to nature, and to big honkin’ flowers!
As I’ve mentioned in past newsletters, we have constructed an in-ground azalea trial to support our growing collection. That trial space is filling up fast!
When I came to Bellingrath in the summer of 2023, BGH had 13 azalea varieties in the ground. Thirteen. Of course, anyone who’s chosen the right weekend to walk the Garden in March has encountered these 13 clones flowing in huge sweeps—breathtaking! We want to build on that. We want to diversify that. We want to augment the effect of these massive monochromatic masses with hundreds of new varieties, crazy vibrant colors, and a noticeably expanded bloom season. In the past year, the Bellingrath azalea collection has grown from 13 to over 300 varieties, and we are just getting started.
Q: What is a plant collection?
A: A collection of plants.
Wow, deep. Thanks. Curating a collection, however, is a huge undertaking!
Q: Where are we getting all these azaleas!?
A: Ok… here we go…
As it pertains to azaleas of garden origin, there are generally only two places to get azaleas: as potted plants from the nurseries that sell them and as cuttings from the gardeners who grow them. Fortunately, Mobile, AL, is quite possibly at the center of the cultivated azalea universe, so most growable azaleas can be found within a day’s drive of Bellingrath. So far, we’ve been gifted hundreds of ready-to-plant azaleas, and we’ve traveled to other gardeners’ azalea collections to take cuttings (for the cuttings, we have to add the roots later).
We have been especially fortunate to have great friends willing to share their own stock, wisdom, and experience with us. Our most sincere gratitude goes out to: Maarten Van Der Giessen of VanDerGiessen Nursery, Buddy Lee/PDSI/Flowerwood Nursery, Dr. David Creech , and the Azalea Society of America.
Tune in next time, when we discuss the significance of establishing our azaleas as a “Core Bellingrath Collection” and why it is crucial for their preservation.