Bellingrath Gardens Horticulture – A to C

By Todd Lasseigne
Executive Director

When people think of Bellingrath Gardens & Home’s horticulture program and its plants, they generally think of two things: azaleas and camellias. Having now been here for 3.5 years, I have been thinking about these two iconic groups of Southern plants for a long time. I now feel, especially with the addition of Jeremy Schmidt as our Director of Horticulture, that the future path for these two critically important plant groups is now being laid. What paths, you say, Todd? What’s “wrong” with the azaleas and camellias that Bellingrath already has? Well, nothing is wrong with them, but there are exciting opportunities for us to move forward with both of these groups of plants.

The Azalea Collection: A Flourishing Transformation

For over twenty years, I feel fortunate to have counted several local horticultural experts as friends and colleagues – Maarten Van Der Giessen, Bill Turk, Forrest Latta, and Bobby Green, to name just four. I could name others, but these three folks come to mind because they are ones who know azaleas (Maarten and Bill) and camellias (Bobby and Forrest) inside-out. Through work over the past year-plus, BGH has developed a relationship with Maarten and his nursery (Van Der Giessen Nursery) such that Bellingrath is actively acquiring azaleas that are new to us, or in some cases being re-received by us after decades of being absent from the gardens.

Bellingrath’s Azaleas: A Storied Past and Bright Future

Once upon a time – according to several azalea experts including Maarten and Louisiana’s Buddy Lee (of Encore® azalea fame) – Bessy Bellingrath had one of the best azalea collections in the Southern U.S. Like other things, she collected plants. The gardens prior to 1979 had dozens to hundreds of different cultivars of azaleas. Hurricane Frederic, of course, created a disastrous reset for the gardens, but looking back 45 years into the past, the gardens have recovered beautifully. However, today our famed azaleas at Bellingrath are dominated by only four well-known and beloved cultivars of evergreen azalea – ‘Formosa’ (the Queen of Southern Azaleas), ‘Pride of Mobile’ (our City’s namesake), ‘Mrs. G. G. Gerbing’ (in her pure white splendors), and ‘George Lindley Taber’ (in its pink-white bicolored glory). These four plants comprise over 95% of the azalea plants at Bellingrath! There are a few others – ‘Coral Bells’ and ‘Hampton Beauty’ come to mind – that you’ll see in a few spots, and one grouping of a deciduous azalea – ‘Tallulah Sunrise’ – by the Atrium, but otherwise, the spring splendors and colors you see are from the four aforementioned cultivars. Through the generosity of Maarten, we have already acquired over 200 new-to-us azaleas. We are in the process of growing these out and developing plans as to how they will be used in the gardens as they are rejuvenated. Since the azalea plantings were last rejuvenated in the early 2000s, we are right on schedule with a 20-year refresh!

Cultivating Camellia Excellence

'Yours Truly' Camellia — ‘Yours Truly’ Camellia

For our camellia collection, there are a few things afoot.

Using 2023 as our “year of the camellia,” we are undertaking work to give individual care to specimen camellias.
Mark, geo-locate, and identify as many as possible.
Rogue out seedlings or rootstock sprouts that are compromising the core collection.
Begin plans for rebuilding the Camellia Arboretum that was developed as a tribute to Mr. Bellingrath by the board in the late 1950s.

Restoring the Camellia Arboretum

What Camellia Arboretum, you might ask? Well, ever since Hurricane Frederic, it has been largely abandoned, a victim of the storm’s fury and tough financial decision-making. Existing to the north of the Summerhouse, there once was a five-acre arboretum of around 2,000 cultivars of camellias – certainly a marvel of its time in terms of being one of the largest known collections of camellias anywhere! After 1979, efforts were made by Pat Ryan, BGH’s Great Horticulturist, to move many of the old camellia specimens into the gardens proper. But, surprisingly, many old camellias still exist in overgrown woods where the Camellia Arboretum once stood.

In a core component of our in-progress master plan, the intent is for the Camellia Arboretum to be restored to its former glory, with a new Camellia Pavilion to be designed and built in this space so that it can regale visitors with its splendors. None other than Mr. Bellingrath himself once referred to camellias as “(having) no equal in the plant world for its beauty and fitness for the beautification of the home,…” It is our intent to reawaken this historical space that has been inaccessible to visitors for 45 years.

Another day, we’ll have to talk about Bellingrath’s Horticulture D to Z, but for now, azaleas and camellias will more than suffice!