Camellias carry with them the stories of their creators, their origin, their caretakers, and the gardens around them. Camellias secure a sort of unrestricted accessibility across a timeline more far reaching than our own mortality affords. Through it all, Camellias bring people together—past, present, and future.

The Camellia was Walter Bellingrath’s favorite flower. The Horticulture department is in the early stages of rebuilding the Camellia Arboretum that was originally inspired by Walter’s passion for Camellias, and built to honor his legacy. We are adding as many varieties as possible—one at a time. We have amassed several hundred varieties so far…with several thousand to go!

Recovering and reestablishing our collection is a top priority for all the reasons above. As these new plants become established, memories begin to resurface. A bloom might offer more than a burst of color or platform that honeybees do their best work. For many of us, a close examination of a flower results in an experience far beyond chromatic. The blossom resurrects memories from long ago—disjunct and out of focus at first, so many images, feelings, sensations—details so minute you’d have to have been there to know what I mean—all of it…ALL of it…somehow and suddenly reassembled, recollected, reanimated on petals of the past.

And while we are standing there in a translucent state, because a part of us is 20, 40, 70 years in the past, a second honeybee enters the picture, and clumsily bumps into the honeybee that was there first. In the still morning mist, the sound of their midair collision is abrupt but gentle…oddly grounding. Neither bee seems to mind. There’s plenty of pollen to go around—and they pupated just six cells apart. So, they just go about their business (buzzness?). In that moment, we feel we are in the midst of a bigger picture. We consider the miraculous metabolic systems upon which the Camellia gathered and configured and transported the nutrients that culminated in that single flower (that’s where my thoughts drift, anyway), the bees checking off boxes on their daily task list (and do bees actually have knees?), the attenuated sounds permeating the calm saturated air (every…single…sound), the flight patterns of individual aerosolized water droplets (water existing in such a dynamic state that it seems to be animated by a single glance), a dead leaf on the ground (wait, which tree did that come from…I don’t remember that tree growing on this side of Mirror Lake), the luxuriant scent of an Osmanthus blooming somewhere (it’s not important where it grows…that’s not the point). Call it the epitome of distraction or the apex of focus—in an instant, the Camellia brings everything around us to within reach of our senses…and within range of our sentience.

And while we are standing there in a translucent state, because our conscious has apparently left our bodies, we marvel at all the Camellias around us…some larger than life relics of the original Camellia Arboretum, and some diminutive plants staring up at us with nursery tags still attached. Can you imagine what these will look like in a few decades!? Glad you asked. Yes, you can! Camellias invite us to predict the future—projecting each years’ growth and flower display. And we can imagine ourselves or our loved ones thriving and blossoming and growing right alongside the plants. We think through time, and the resultant feeling is just as real as standing in the shade of a tree planted way back when. Camellias are timeless. And while we are standing there in a translucent state, we are timeless too, thinking 20, 40, 70 years into to the future.

Time to take this article in for a landing. You may have heard—on February 28th, 47 people gathered in the Camellia Arboretum and picked up shovels—members of the Camellia community alongside the members of Bellingrath Gardens. In front of them were about 100 Camellias in a 12,000 sq’ slice of the Camellia Arboretum. The plants were strategically arranged in a 14’ x 8’ grid. We had previously darkened the soil by adding 150 cubic yards of compost and a coat of matte black paint was still drying on recently glued irrigation risers. The atmosphere was electric as people from 5 to 85 years old had gathered together in anticipation of what was about to happen. And in a matter of minutes it was over. All this talk of Camellias and time…it seemed to happen in an instant, but just like that, the first significant Camellia Arboretum planting in at least 50 years was over in 40 minutes. Planted and mulched…signed, sealed, delivered.

47 people came together 47 years after Hurricane Frederic shuddered the Camellia Arboretum. Some people came because their grandparents loved Camellias. Some people participated because they had the opportunity to plant their favorite plant into their favorite garden. Some people joined us because they were here with their grandparents—and at 5 or 6 years old, one has limited input into their daily schedule. If you weren’t there, I wish you were. There is so much I want to illustrate for you…details so minute you’d have to have been there to know what I mean. But there is one experience upon which I simply must expound: the sound. The sound of 47 shovels simultaneously lancing the ground…neither softer or louder than the voices of those operating them. A shovel making contact with a brick or root, overlapping and barely discernible fragments of reminiscent stories shared of gardening past, a botched plant name read aloud, the light thud of a shovelful of dirt landing next to a 3 gallon pot-sized hole, the same plant name botched for a second time but now cast with an air of confidence, strong opinions from a small murder of crows, something about an Alabama sports team doing sports, a shovel stabbed into the ground to stay upright quickly followed by the sound of a shovel handle hitting the soft ground, laughter, a helicopter going overhead on its way somewhere, someone slapping the side of the pot in an effort to introduce a Camellia to Bellingrath soil for the first time, a bag of pine bark mulch being torn open. To be immersed in the bustle was so satisfying, so deeply nourishing, so timeless…I will never forget those 40 minutes. Camellias will continue bringing people together at Bellingrath Gardens—the legacy of Walter and Bessie retold with the opening of every flower.

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Since last October, BGH leadership and our design team have been hard at work on the schematic design of Phase 1 of the Centennial Master Plan. This phase encompasses areas of the gardens located between the Fowl River and Mirror Lake, from the North Bayou southward all the way to the northern edge of the Great Lawn. Of course, this means that it includes all garden spaces around the Bellingrath Home and the Delchamps Gallery of Boehm Porcelain building. Although all of the gardens are historic, we have chosen to call this particular area the “Historic Core,” since it forms the heart and soul of the garden and contains its most elaborately designed spaces. The design team for this project is Tres Fromme (3.fromme Design, Sanford, Florida) and Steven Lee Johnson (Sitework Studios, Asheville, North Carolina).

Not everything in the Historic Core is original, however. The South Terrace, for instance, was created in the early 1960s after the fishing lodge was torn down after Mr. Bellingrath’s death in 1955. Therefore, neither Walter nor Bessie Bellingrath ever saw the current South Terrace. The boathouse (or River Pavilion), also is not original, with the current structure representing the third such iteration being constructed on the Fowl River!

Highlights of the planning for Phase 1, as of completion of schematic design, are as follows:

1. We will be restoring all existing features, as needed, to their original specifications, designs, and functionality. For instance, a crack on the south face of the Grotto is worrisome, such that it will be investigated and repaired. Another issue that will be resolved relates to eliminating water being piped through the basement of the Home from the Courtyard Garden to the East Terrace.

2. We will create an ADA-accessible loop leading downhill from the South Terrace, along the Riverfront, looping westward to Mirror Lake, and then, via a new walkway, leading along the entire shore of Mirror Lake before returning via a modernized, accessible walkway uphill to the Historic Core.

3. Improved and expanded restroom facilities are a part of this plan, including modernization of those in the Boehm Gallery and construction of new facilities adjacent to this building and also in a new garden.

4. What new garden?! Well, at the northern end of this area, we propose to construct the “Centennial Terrace,” a space that will celebrate 100 years of BGH’s existence and also offer beautiful views to both the Fowl River and the North Bayou, while providing a new space for rental opportunities and other celebrations. Please see at the top of this article the exciting artist’s sketch of a portion of the Centennial Terrace.

5. Improved flow, both for visitors and for service and delivery vehicles, will be had through this space through the thoughtful restructuring of walkways.

6. We will address needed, permanent repairs to the Mirror Lake dam, its weir, and the overflow pond on the northeast side of the lake.

With all of these details, you might feel that the design work is 100% done, but no, there’s more. Soon, after completing schematic design, we will go into “design development,” where all of the nitty-gritty details will be determined. This process will leave us with only the construction documents to be drawn afterward!

When we announced at the turn of the year that we had met the challenge from The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, this is what these funds were raised to do. Through the Daniel Foundation, and because of all of you who stepped in to help us reach the $100,000 match, we are well on our way in the design process to envision what the Historic Core, the heart and soul of Bellingrath Gardens & Home, will be for its next 100 years!

Thank you.
Todd

Over the past few months, three of our flower beds have been adopted. Joshua Turner and Samantha Stone adopted the center bed in the Secret Garden, and The Sybil and White Smith Foundation dedicated twin beds at the base of the Grotto.

The Secret Garden bed is in memory of Barbara Ann “Mimi” Dortch. The Grotto beds are in memory of Sybil Huey Smith and Margaret G. Huey.

Joshua and Samantha recently visited the Gardens, and Samantha shared these thoughts on seeing the bed in memory of her grandmother:

“Thank you for allowing our beloved Barbara Ann (“Mimi”) to share her Blooming Bed with guests and caretakers at Bellingrath Gardens. Much like a bloom’s edges peeling back, a plant blossoming is a sort of grieving. Once secure and bound, a bud then opens to bloom, braving the elements to show the pinnacle of their beauty and remind us of their perpetual change. Mimi’s love of flora and fauna will live on with us, together.”

As Samantha says, the Blooming Beds show the beauty and constant change that are part of the Gardens experience. Each of the beds will have as many as five different plantings over the course of the year, but for the two-year adoption period, they’ll remain a celebration of those they remember and of nature’s beauty.

Other tribute gift opportunities include swings and benches, containers, and commemorative bricks. More information is available on our website at Tribute & Commemorative Gifts – Bellingrath Gardens.

For questions about tribute and commemorative gifts, contact Director of Development Cory Sparks at [email protected] or (251) 873-1378.

Last October, Bellingrath Gardens & Home unveiled its Centennial Master Plan to the public with much excitement and energy. Since then, we have been working intensely on design for Phase 1 (The Historic Core), but we also have been exploring possibilities with both the future Children’s and Family Garden and even the Camellia Arboretum. To say that we have seen interest in this plan is an understatement!

However, while the concepts of restoring features and spaces (like we did recently with the Summer House) and building new spaces are work enough, there also remains the fact that BGH’s systems, infrastructure, and operational facilities need attention. As such, Dr. Cory Sparks, BGH’s Director of Development and I, with help from Tom McGehee, BGH’s Bellingrath Home Museum Director, have been working diligently on a campaign we call “Laying the Groundwork for the Centennial Master Plan.” This campaign will see seven projects completed. Of course, there are many more projects, but we had to start with a prioritized list.

1. Engineering and design of new electrical infrastructure from our point of connection with Alabama Power inward and throughout the entire BGH campus

2. Underground surveying work of the Phase 1 Historic Core area so that unmapped, legacy infrastructure can be identified and located

3. Installation of new LED light fixtures and connection via buried electrical infrastructure to light our overflow parking lot

4. Architectural redesign of the “Security Building” to accommodate six new offices

5. Documentation and needs assessments of eight existing BGH buildings

6. Installation of wireless solenoid valves for irrigation improvements to the Great Lawn

7. Conceptual design of a new Maintenance Facility and Complex

Collectively, major funding has been secured – totaling over $160,000 or 62% of the goal as we await word from other grantors. We thank The J.L. Bedsole Foundation ($100,000), Hargrove Engineers ($25,000), The A.S. Mitchell Foundation ($17,500), The Dr. Monte L. Moorer Foundation Charitable Trust ($10,000), The Laidlaw Foundation ($5,000), and The Julien E. Marx Foundation Trust ($3,000) for this crucial and forward-looking support of Bellingrath Gardens & Home!

Hargrove Engineers (Mobile, AL) has already commenced work on the electrical infrastructure design. In related projects, E.F. Thompson Geotechnologies (Mobile, AL) has been hired to complete underground surveying, and McCollum Electric (Mobile, AL) will install the lighting in the overflow parking lot.

And, this support comes on top of $50,000 contributed by The Hearin-Chandler Foundation to the Summer House project, $21,000 awarded from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust (Larkspur, CA) in a nationally competitive grant cycle for greenhouse cooling systems improvements, $7,500 from The Williams Companies Foundation (Tulsa, OK) for improvements to the Bayou Boardwalk, and our December 2025 completion of the $100,000 challenge grant from The Daniel Foundation of Alabama for design work of Phase 1 of the Master Plan. We also raised $25,000 for improvements to our “headhouse” building (which supports greenhouse operations) through crowdfunding via small donors!

Y’all, all I can say is that it is happening! We really are seeing historic levels of success with our fundraising at BGH, and I truly do believe that the best is yet to come. We are also experiencing a record-setting year for our Membership program, with us being 49% over target as of March 1st! The love that people feel for Bellingrath and the notion that Bellingrath is an integral part of Mobile and the greater Gulf Coast region are palpable realities. We will continue to advocate for support from donors and members like you, and so many others who are looking at our momentum with excitement and anticipation.

Thank you.
Todd

11 out of 10 gardeners agree that buying plants at Bellingrath Garden’s Plant Markets results in immediate albeit temporary satiation of impulsive gardening urges.

A seasonal urge hit me for the first time this year on an unseasonably warm January Day—an unbridled urge…to buy plants. Does this sound like you? I’m glad you asked. If you’ve read this far (and technically, this is only the article’s 4th sentence after the title), then I’m guessing you answered emphatically “YES—MORE PLANTZ!” I’m guessing you have been thinking about spending all your available cash on plants. I have [no fiscal restraints when it comes to buying plants]. I’m guessing you are thinking about the places in your garden that could use less pine straw and more flowers. I am as well—pine straw is so boring! I’m guessing you’re missing the joy of planting—the feel and smell of the earth in the palm of your hand. People have asked if I have dirt tattoos on my hands, to which I reply “uhhh nope, just dirt on my hands all the time.” I’m guessing right about now you remember how amazing your front porch looked last year, adorned with all those hanging baskets (or maybe you’re remembering your neighbor’s porch across the street that you had to stare at all summer long). I’m guilty…of having that porch and for being that neighbor. I’m guessing you are thinking about a plant that exceeded your expectations last year, unlocking an innate desire to grow it again…bigger and better than ever. I am too…all the time. I’m guessing you’ve perused the big box store plant selections and noticed they are pretty much the same every year, priced higher than expected, and lack the diversity to satisfy a hopelessly hooked gardener like you. Me too…join the club.

This spring, Bellingrath Gardens is hosting not one but TWO plant markets:

“Spring Plant Market” March 20-22 (Fri, Sat, Sun)

AND

“Mother’s Day Plant Market” May 09-10 (Sat, Sun)

8am-4pm each day

Come to Bellingrath Gardens Spring Plant Markets and buy plants! We’ve packed the shelves with thousands of plants. You do not need to buy an admissions ticket to shop. Several knowledgeable Horticulture staff will be on hand to answer questions. As always, Bellingrath Members receive a hefty discount! If Spring Plant Market had a slogan, it might go something like: “I’m not only Bellingrath’s Director of Horticulture, I’m also a client!”

See you soon!

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Most months, I “only” get to write about BGH’s exciting progress on capital projects or special events. For this month, I’ve decided to write a separate, second column talking about some cool trees that we’ve recently planted at Bellingrath. Alabama celebrates “Arbor Week” in late February, an ideal time of the year to plant trees, and Bellingrath has been following suit. Since the beginning of the year, we have been working to plant out several dozen cool trees, and some shrubs, adding to our palette of woody plants that grace the grounds of our beloved garden. Here are some horticultural highlights.

1. Mirror Lake, prior to Hurricane Frederic’s fury, was surrounded by a rich canopy of trees. Per the Centennial Master Plan, we aim to restore this tree-clad landscape to one that mirrors what our founders experienced. One tree that we recently planted not far from the water’s edge is a relatively new cottonwood that bears purple-colored new foliage, Populus deltoides ‘Purple Tower’. This of our eastern U.S. arose in the U.K. but will mature as a fine, straight-trunked and tall tree back in its native lands at BGH.

2. On the southwest side of Mirror Lake underneath several mature river birches, we have planted a trio of a tree rarely seen in the U.S., Exbucklandia tonkinensis. So rare is this tree in cultivation that it doesn’t yet have a common name. If you think of it as an evergreen sweet gum, minus the prickly gumballs, this will give you an idea of what we have. Hopefully, it will prosper at Bellingrath!

3. Also along the shoreline of Mirror Lake, we planted a young tree of a relatively new cultivar of baldcypress selected for its strongly columnar growth habit – Taxodium distichum ‘Skyward’. I first came to know and grow this tree when I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only a two hours’ drive from where it was discovered in a suburban lot in the town of Mustang. As with any other baldcypress, we think that it will thrive at BGH.

4. A close relative of baldcypress (Taxodium) is a tree known only from China and Thailand, Glyptostrobus pensilis, the so-called Chinese water pine or Chinese swamp cypress. We planted two of these, which we procured from Woodlanders Nursery of Aiken, South Carolina, near Mirror Lake.  Relatives of this tree were native to North America during the age of the dinosaurs but died out just prior to the Ice Ages.

5. Another conifer that you can frequently see throughout southern U.S. cities is China fir. It is not really a fir, but rather an evergreen cousin to baldcypress. We have planted two young specimens of the “blue”-needled form, Cunninghamia lanceolata ‘Glauca’, at Bellingrath. The term “glauca” refers to the presence of a whitish-colored wax on the leaves, which renders the plant “horticulturally blue.”  Just as with Chinese water pine, Cunninghamia was once native to North America during the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth!

6. Rounding out our set of unusual gymnosperms is Nageia nagi (formerly called Podocarpus nagi), sometimes known as the Nagi tree. This Japanese native tree, related to the “Japanese yews” seen around Mobile (Podocarpus macrophyllus), is an old, heirloom tree that once was planted around the Gulf Coast but which died out during the extreme winters of the 1980s. We have sited our young specimen in a protected area between the Rose Garden and the Café/Gift Shop building, where it will hopefully mature into a 20-30’ tall evergreen in due time.

7. Bellingrath Gardens will always be known for its magnificent live oaks (and sand live oaks), but we thought it would be cool to see if we could grow the oak that bears that largest acorns of any oak species, Quercus insignis. In 2009, I had the pleasure of seeing this tree in the wilds of central Mexico, … an acorn in my hand – yes, just one acorn because it was all I could fit in the palm of my hand! This species is probably too tender to form a proper tree at Bellingrath, and so we’ve tucked it away in a protected area where, should it die back in a cold winter, it won’t detract from the beauty of the gardens. However, should it ever produce an acorn, we’ll alert all to come and marvel at it!

8. Speaking of Mexican trees, we also recently planted a duo of a columnar form of a Mexican evergreen willow – yes, evergreen! Salix bonplandiana ranges from southern Mexico southward to Guatemala, but this columnar form is best known from the iconic specimens that grow in the famed Floating Gardens of Xochimilco in Mexico City. Our plants came from the Bartlett Arboretum’s (Charlotte, North Carolina) Adam Black. We’ll see how they prosper here at Bellingrath, so stay tuned for future cold hardiness reports!

9. Recently, we’ve also added a quintet of flowering trees to Bellingrath, ones we feel would delight Miss Bessie, as we all know that she loved to see flowers throughout the year.

a. Emmenopterys henryi is a deciduous flowering tree that is related both to gardenias and to a rare southeastern U.S. native tree called Pinckneya. Although we hope to add the latter to BGH in the future, for now we are excited to have its Chinese cousin. When it matures, which may take ten or more years, it will become a summer-flowering tree that perfumes the air around it. I was there when the tree at the JC Raulston Arboretum (Raleigh, North Carolina) first flowered in the late 1990s. Not everyone was sure if it would be worth the wait, but when we saw the tree covered in snowy white flowers and smelled its sweet scent, we knew that this famed tree from Ernest “Chinese” Wilson’s plant exploration tales was the real deal. We’ll know what it will do for us in future years!

b. The following duo of flowering trees comes from the breeding work of Dr. Tom Ranney, one of my Ph.D. advisors from my NC State University days. Tom has taken different members of the tea (or camellia) family, and created novel hybrids that form evergreen to semi-evergreen, small-sized flowering trees. The first is one that the Southern Living Plants brand has represented, ×Gordlinia grandiflora ‘Sweet Tea’, a cross between loblolly bay (a rare Alabama native) and the Franklin tree.  Given that the tree has already met the Southern Living seal of approval, we feel that it will grow well for us at Bellingrath. The second plant, humorously named by North Carolina nurseryman Tony Avent, is ×Schimlinia ‘Shima Lina Ding Dong’, which should also do well for us. Its parents include the extinct North American native Franklin tree (named after Benjamin Franklin) and one of its Asian cousins (Schima argentea).

c. We are also experimenting with dogwoods, especially given that our native Cornus florida have been wiped out from Gulf Coast forests by a fungal disease called “dogwood powdery mildew.”  Although we hope one day to be able to plant disease-resistant native trees, for now we are testing several evergreen Asian species that seem immune to the disease. Perhaps the most promising of these evergreen dogwoods for us is Hong Kong dogwood, Cornus hongkongensis. Introduced to the U.S. only as recently as the early 2000s, this plants has prospered in Semmes and several other Gulf Coast locations, while other evergreen dogwoods seem to be finicky. Our specimen of Hong Kong dogwood was planted just behind the Admissions Building, where we hope it will perform well.

d. The last group of flowering trees that we are dipping our toes into includes several new hybrid evergreen magnolias developed by Dr. Kevin Parris of Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. Kevin’s work is nothing short of amazing! He has done breeding work that heretofore was thought impossible, crossing deciduous Japanese magnolias with banana magnolia, for instance, and on the other hand crossing some of the U.S. bigleaf magnolias with evergreen cousin species from China. We have planted out two of these promising hybrids recently, and we look forward to seeing how they grow, and flower, for us.

In closing out this long article, I want to remind you of the collector’s spirit that Miss Bessie had throughout her life. From azaleas and camellias to all of the antiques and decorative objects that adorn the Bellingrath Home, Miss Bessie exemplifies the best qualities that all collectors bear – that spirit of seeking the new, the beautiful, and the unknown. We feel that were Miss Bessie to somehow walk the gardens she created today that she would marvel at the horticultural treasures that the modern world now afford us – treasures that include this short list of interesting and beautiful trees.

Thank you.

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What floral display could possibly capture the euphoric, indulgent, ephemeral spirit of Mardi Gras? Glad you asked. Orchids. Lots and lots and lots of orchids.

Starting around Mardi Gras, 2027, Bellingrath Gardens is going all out orchid crazy. The admissions building will welcome you properly with a massive orchid centerpiece. The conservatory will be to be packed to the panes with orchids. The café will be serving delicious orchid vignettes. The Bellingrath Home will be as alive and priceless as ever, but overflowing with orchid arrangements like never before. And we will even be displaying orchids outside…fully prepared to bring them inside anytime it gets too cold. Also, the Atrium, the gift shop, the Boehm Gallery, the Bellingrath Courtyard—we are going to cram orchids into places you didn’t know orchids would fit. If you tell us you find our orchid displays excessive, we will be sure to thank you for the compliment! If you think I’m using “orchids” too many times in this article, then I have only one thing to say to you…OMG!

This is a really big deal! We’ve been planning and preparing for OMG! since last August. Late last summer, while we were mapping out our operational spending for this year, we doubled our plant budget to make room for buying in so many orchids. Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, it’s worth repeating…Bellingrath doubled its plant budget just to buy tons of orchids. OMG!  Soooo…how much will we raise the ticket price to see the orchids? Glad you asked. We invite you to experience “Orchids and Mardi Gras” for the price of general admission to the Gardens and general admission to the Home. Are you a member? Friends of Bellingrath members get into the Gardens for free. OMG!

Now that I’ve spilled the beans (I guess…uhhh…Vanilla beans?), there’s no going back! In the next eleven months, we are going to be building set pieces, drawing designs, ordering orchids, and finally installing orchids. Please don’t ask me to record how many hours we are going to be stuck in orchid show planning sessions. But already, we’ve visited other orchid show host venues, and recently returned from the international 2026 Tamiami orchid festival. Hear what our Nursery Manager, Tom Papp, has to say about the trade show:

“The country’s largest orchid festival is not for the faint of heart. From the moment you rush across the threshold mingled with thousands of fellow orchid-lovers into the towering Miami Dade Expo Center, the unending sights, sounds, and scents of thousands of orchids are nearly overwhelming. With almost two hundred vendors from around the world and three days to take it all in, visitors are greeted with every color of flower (and flowers in colors they hadn’t even imagined yet), shapes they didn’t know plants came in, and fragrances on par with the most expensive perfumes of every culture and continent. Some plants were as tall as a person, and others could fit entirely in the palm of your hand with room to spare; here you’d see a table with showy flowers fit for a Victorian estate, and at the booth just next door, some alien and seemingly impossible plants. It truly is a sensory tsunami of proportions appropriate for what is likely the largest family of flowering plants on Earth, but even the most delicate flower, shrinking violet, or shy wallflower will find themselves eventually drawn in by the menagerie of award-winning display specimens and exotic plants available for purchase. If the magnetic pull of hitherto-unheard-of orchids just waiting for a new home somehow wasn’t enough, the world-class lecture series presented by some of the biggest growers and research institutions in the orchid world would seal the deal. It’s a phenomenal experience for anyone, from total novices to botanical experts, and we were honored to represent Bellingrath Gardens and Home and bring back some incredible specimens to display in our always-growing orchid collection.”

Ok, you may have gathered that Tom is an orchid lover if ever anyone loved orchids. Back in his greenhouse lair, Tom is working to retrofit one of our oldest greenhouses to serve as an orchid collection house, giving us the opportunity to maintain, grow, and cycle into display a permanent orchid collection. 2027 will be Bellingrath’s inaugural OMG!, but the conversion of an 80 year old glasshouse will establish Bellingrath as a legitimate orchid collection holder, where 10% of the orchid budget will be spent on adding new accessions.  So, each year, OMG! will showcase new displays, new combinations, and crazy new ideas. Simultaneously, our permanent collection will increasingly support the seasonal orchid display in ways that may inspire you to talk about orchids with the same involuntary exuberance as Tom. These things happen. And we hope you are willing to take that risk.

Orchids and Mardi Gras!” kicks off at Bellingrath Gardens and Home in 2027. So, if you were in Mobile in 1703 to attend the inaugural Mardi Gras Festival, and you felt the show was missing something, we believe you’ll be telling your friends “Orchids and Mardi Gras…it was worth the wait.”

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