One of my greatest joys as a gardener is discovering that there are so many “right answers” out there—a seemingly unlimited number of plant selections and combinations capable of elevating a garden space into a transformational experience for those who pass through it.

As someone who has been gardening since birth (so I am told), I always strive to assemble plants in an order that is new… to see a space differently… to see a plant differently… to find myself in a different garden space than I’ve ever been. Last April, becoming acquainted with South Alabama’s long growing season, I tried something a bit different.

Northwest of the brick patio near the Great Lawn (where Bellingrath serves you your delicious hot chocolate and s’mores during Magic Christmas in Lights), there is a mass planting of Autumn fern. Although it was already quite beautiful, I wanted to do something to spice up the 125 sq. ft. of Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’. While most garden beds focus on color range, coordination, and diversity, I decided to keep it dramatically simple; so, I added plants that add contrast in height and texture.

Just two plants: look what happened when we interjected ‘Tineke’ rubber tree (Ficus elastica ‘Tineke’) and some tractor seat (Farfugium giganteum ‘Marco’)! Tall, coarse, stout, variegated tropical texture stands proudly above a sea of lush ferns—proclaiming their aesthetic dominance. Also coarse-textured, but seeing eye-to-eye with the ferns, the surreal leaves of Farfugium add a hint of magic.

The rubber tree is not leaf-hardy below freezing and is likely to die out altogether if temps linger below freezing for very long. But we’re just going to treat these easy-to-propagate woody plants like big ol’ annuals. The tractor seat is easily winter-hardy in South Alabama but will likely freeze back temporarily below 25°F.

This is a mixed planting… containing both perennials and “annuals.” Besides being another “right answer” to garden display choices, this dramatic mixed planting is rather labor-, resource-, and cost-efficient. After the initial installation, the cost to embellish such a space in subsequent years drops dramatically compared to covering 125 square feet with annuals every spring. The Autumn ferns and tractor seat are long-lived perennials. Once they are in the garden, they look great year after year, needing limited yearly input compared to an all-annual display. This spring, we were selling the Farfugium for about $15 each—we planted 20 in between the ferns. With perennial bones firmly established, all we needed were a few large accents to really tie the outdoor room together. In Bellingrath’s plant sales Atrium, the Ficus ‘Tineke’ used in this display are for sale at $15 (small)–$25 (large)—we only needed seven of these to complete the planting! Spicy… not pricey.

This is just another idea to try in your garden. The next time you are thinking about how to lay out a garden space, simply have fun—we sure do! Isn’t gardening exciting!?

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A Major Step Forward: 3D Scanning of Bellingrath Home

Thanks to a recent grant from the Alabama Historical Commission, Bellingrath Gardens & Home has undertaken a project that I have long desired to see done. This funding has allowed us to produce a full 3D scan of all interiors and the exterior of the Bellingrath Home. Better yet, it is now completed!

Why Is This Project Important?

You might ask, why is this project important to BGH? After all, we already have extensive photos of the Home, both outside and inside. And yet, I can say that we don’t have enough information on how the Home was built and how it exists today from an architectural and structural standpoint.

Going all the way back to the architectural design for the Home done by George B. Rogers in the 1930s to the present day, what we have at BGH, in terms of plans and designs, is only:
a) the physicality of the Home itself, and
b) a small blueprint drawing of the Home.

Mr. Rogers’ designs no longer exist, and the blueprint drawing represents only a small portion of the information needed to understand the Bellingrath Home. Therefore, we have no ability to observe in detail and study how the Home is holding up over time and what measures we should be taking to ensure its preservation.

What Is 3D Scanning?

If you’re not familiar with 3D scanning technology, think of it as a document scanner combined with a camera. When we take photographs using a camera, we measure color and light data of a given space, and that data is saved in a file. A 3D scan does the same thing, but it also measures distances between objects, as seen from the reference point of the scan’s angle.

In other words, a 3D scan represents a three-dimensional model of a given space. This model can be studied by architects, engineers, and others to assess the conditions that existed at the time of the scan so that plans to remediate minor damage or address structural concerns can be produced.

Why Worry About the Bellingrath Home Now?

You might say, “Todd, why do we need to worry about this? After all, the Bellingrath Home is ‘only’ 89 years old! I know of houses that are 200 years old, and they’re in great shape!”

To this, I might say:

• Has that 200-year-old house been hit by multiple hurricanes over the decades?
• Does that house have thousands of visitors tour it every year?
• Has that house benefited from restoration work over its lifetime?
• Does that house have a full set of architectural drawings that can be consulted to ascertain why a given wall is sagging, or a roof is leaking, or a steel lintel is rusting, etc.?

Looking to the Future: Preserving the Home

As many of you probably also have, I grew up watching episodes of This Old House with Bob Vila on PBS. Although I do not consider myself an expert in anything related to home repairs, I do know that older homes are ignored at your peril.

As Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens and Home, you can rest assured that the future of the Bellingrath Home is being taken seriously. We will do our best to ensure that it lasts for many decades longer into the future, come rain or shine, calm winds or hurricanes.

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An Addition to the Collection

When Mrs. Bellingrath’s grandniece, Serena Edgar Wilcox, moved to Auburn to be near her brother, Ernest, a sale was conducted for items she would no longer need. One item given to Bellingrath Gardens was a large carrying case marked “Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile, Ala.”

Inside the case was a Bell and Howell film projector. That company was founded in Chicago in 1907 by Donald Bell and Albert Howell. Chicago and New York were both locations for early motion picture studios in the first two decades of the century, and Bell and Howell was producing a hand-cranked movie camera by 1910.

The first all-metal motion picture camera was also made by Bell and Howell. It was so expensive that only studios could afford to buy them. One individual who was able to purchase one was Charlie Chaplin, who was hired by Chicago’s Essanay Studios in 1915 at $1,250 per week. (Today, that would equal nearly $40,000.)

The World’s First

In 1934, Bell and Howell introduced the world’s first movie projector for amateurs. The model now in the Bellingrath Collection has a metal plaque with numerous patent numbers, so it apparently dates to late in that decade.

When the Chapel was completed in 1939, it was ultimately turned into a makeshift movie theater so that Mr. Bellingrath could entice visitors to return. As they sat in the Chapel on benches, they watched films depicting the Gardens at other times of the year to prove that it was truly a “Year-Round Garden.”

This portable version may have been used there, but Mr. Bellingrath’s grandnephew, Ernest Edgar III, had this to say about it:

“I know that projector well… 16 mm. My father took many movies of the Gardens as well as Coca-Cola events and showed them at many gatherings. In fact, as a teenager, along with my mother, I would show movies to the children in the Rotary Crippled Children’s Clinic in the old Mobile Infirmary on Spring Hill Avenue. Then we would take them to the Roxy Theater to see a movie.”

Many of those children were suffering from the effects of polio, which has largely been eradicated thanks to Rotarians. Today, the Rotary Children’s Foundation is the descendant of the earlier clinic and offers grants to local organizations that assist disabled children. Your author is proud to serve on its board.

The movie-making business would largely relocate to California by World War I. Essanay Studios closed its doors in 1918 and sold its facilities to Bell and Howell. Their movie projector, purchased by Walter Bellingrath so long ago, has come home.

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Warm-season flora has been at full throttle since May; after five months of hot days, warm soil, and sudden rains, south Alabama’s long 2024 growing season has played its hand. So much has happened this past summer in Bellingrath’s gardens—I thought I’d share a little of what’s been going on.

Getting Ready for the Great Bellingrath Harvest

We are getting excited for the Great Bellingrath Harvest event (Sept 21-Oct 31)—maybe too excited! In advance of this event, we just couldn’t wait to have pumpkins, so we planted several varieties along the Fowl River.

The plants were so close to the river’s edge that the vines grew into (and were pruned back by) the brackish water.

Please join us for the Great Harvest event! To supplement the 10 or so pumpkins we produced in-house, we are hauling in an entire semi-trailer full of pumpkins for display and play alike.

New Additions to Our Garden Tools

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Bellingrath acquired a critical piece of machinery to replace one whose time had finally come.

We’ve already made great use of the new machine, turning (literally) a 50-year-old overgrown garden debris dump site into an active composting campaign. We’ve already placed around 200 cubic yards of nutritious compost around the property. You will definitely begin to notice the revitalization of Bellingrath’s many flower beds going forward!

Preserving a Centenarian Oak

We’ve been busy harvesting pumpkins and compost, but in the case of a century-old sand live oak (Quercus geminata), we delayed the harvest for as long as possible. In order to remove the possibility that half of this handsome tree could fall on the café during a storm—without also removing the oak—we had the tree professionally bolted together. This involved drilling through the trunk and inserting rods.
Introducing: “Franken-tree.”

Surprisingly, this preventative action is not detrimental to the long-term health of the tree—especially considering the alternative. In a few years, the oak will grow to conceal much of the support structure.

Reflecting on a Season of Growth

In the garden, late summer affords a time for mindful deliberation—an opportunity to review what’s grown, what hasn’t grown, and what’s grown way too much.

Although summer isn’t over yet, a great harvest is approaching!

Horticulturally,
Jeremy Schmidt,
Director of Horticulture

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Are you passionate about nature, plants, and animals? Do you enjoy working with children and want to make a meaningful impact in your community? Join us at Bellingrath Gardens & Home as a volunteer for our Education Department!

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to help kindergarten through sixth-grade students explore the wonders of plants, animals, and the environment. Through hands-on learning and fun activities, you can help inspire the next generation to appreciate and care for the natural world. Lesson plans and materials will be provided for you!

2024 Volunteer Dates:

• Leafy Learners: September 18 – 9 am to 1 pm
• Pumpkins Galore: October 16 – 9 am to 1 pm
• Nature’s Little Explorers: November 13 – 9 am to 1 pm

Whether you can volunteer for just one day or all three, your time and dedication will make a significant difference. By guiding young minds in their exploration of nature, you will be helping to shape their understanding and appreciation of the world around them.

To become a volunteer, simply fill out our volunteer application. Applicants must be 18 years or older.

Complete a Volunteer Application Here

If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact our Volunteer Department at (251) 873-1439 or [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

Join us in nurturing a love for the environment in children and help them grow into tomorrow’s stewards of our planet. We can’t wait to see you at Bellingrath Gardens & Home!

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By Todd Lasseigne
Executive Director

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With the start of the school year in August and the transition from summer to fall in September, it would be understandable if visiting Bellingrath Gardens & Home isn’t at the forefront of your mind. On one hand, focusing on getting children ready for the school year and helping them adjust once it begins makes sense. On the other hand, many of you might think, “Let’s just wait until fall to visit Bellingrath.”

Well, well, well… Despite these valid reasons and thoughts, we at Bellingrath beg to differ. Now—yes, Now!—is the time to visit Bellingrath. With our first “fake autumn” arriving a few days ago, thankfully bringing relief by dropping the dew points from 80°F to 72°F (yes, we don’t ask for much), you probably feel like we do: re-energized to walk outdoors, soak in the sunlight, and stroll in the dappled shade of our live oaks. Come now, ye all, and come again afterward!

If my encouragement isn’t enough to lure you from the comfort of your air conditioning and cozy couch, Bellingrath Gardens & Home is about to give you plenty of other reasons to come. What “other” reasons, you ask?!!

Introducing The Great Bellingrath Harvest!

Although the gardens are always lovely and the Home ever beckoning, this September, we are launching an entirely new fall festival—The Great Bellingrath Harvest! Starting on September 21 and running through Halloween, we will introduce new events such as the Harvest Market, bring back familiar ones like our Scarecrows in the Gardens and our Fall Plant Sale, and rebrand older events, such as our Jack-o-Lantern Jubilee (formerly Boo!). If you like pumpkins, all we’re saying right now is, “Hold my beer.” We think you’ll be amazed.

While all of this is happening, the gardens will be beautifully adorned with our cascading chrysanthemums (starting in late October) and other botanical glories of fall Gulf Coast gardens. Our goal with The Great Bellingrath Harvest is to give you more choices and opportunities to visit. Yes, we want you to come for the 2024 Magic Christmas in Lights, but we don’t want you to wait until the Christmas celebrations begin to visit.

Therefore, mark your calendars, and please visit our website at bellingrath.org/event/harvest for details.

What Can You See at Bellingrath Today?

If you were to visit Bellingrath today, what might you see? The three photos accompanying this article were taken just earlier on August 26, showcasing the splendors of both close-up details and distant vistas here at Bellingrath. From the intricate range of green to chartreuse to yellow on the leaves of our ‘Calidora’ elephant ears near the South Terrace—and yes, there are still a few left for sale in our Gift Shop—to the burst of color provided by the cool new tropical philodendron called ‘Golden Crocodile,’ we have aimed this year to “tropical up” our plantings and use a lot of the many wonderful “aroids” (look it up) that have been all the rage in horticultural and houseplant circles for the past decade.

From the East Terrace of the Bellingrath Home, the stunning contrast and juxtaposition of the tropical lushness in the foreground against the simplicity and grandeur of the bend in the Fowl River, with our salt marsh in full view, simply cannot be equaled.

More to Explore at Bellingrath

What else might you see on a visit to Bellingrath? Well, the beautiful border along the Great Lawn, the award-winning Rose Garden, the peacefulness of a walk around Mirror Lake, and many more visual treasures await you. Don’t forget to take a tour of the Home led by Tom McGehee and his great team. Please also visit our Gift Shop, managed by Patti Davidson, and enjoy a satisfying meal in the Magnolia Café, which has excelled under Yvonne Clark’s leadership.

Thank you for your support and patronage of Bellingrath. The more you visit, the more you learn and become inspired.

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By Tom McGehee
Museum Home Director

Although architect George B. Rogers is rightfully credited with the design of much of Bellingrath Gardens, there was another talented man at work in their creation: Louis C. Thublin. While Rogers was the architect, Thublin was the horticulturist.

Louis Charlemagne Thublin was born outside of Paris in 1868 and apprenticed for six years to qualify as “a florist, horticulturist, and landscape architect.” At the age of 18, he immigrated to the United States and arrived in Mobile in 1886. His sister, Lucie, had married another French transplant, Claude Ravier, who had established a florist and nursery on the southwest corner of Selma and George streets.

Louis Thublin worked with his brother-in-law until 1897, when he went out on his own. The Ravier household had grown to include nine children, and two of the older sons were now in business with their father. Thublin was first located at 650 S. Broad, where he listed himself as “a florist and landscape gardener.”

Beginning Work for the Bellingraths

By 1912, when the Bellingraths began using his services on their property on South Ann Street, Mr. Thublin’s operations were located on a large lot on Marine Street, north of Virginia Street. It was Thublin’s crew that landscaped and maintained the Bellingraths’ garden at 60 S. Ann Street and made it a showplace.

It was in 1925 that Thublin began his work at Belle Camp. Bessie Bellingrath told him to bring his crew down to the camp, explaining, “If I am going to spend time down there, I want it looking nice.” It was Louis Thublin who perfected a way to transplant century-old azaleas and camellias without losing a single blossom.

After the Bellingraths returned from their European trip in 1927, they added architect George B. Rogers to the project, and he designed the hardscape so admired today. The Grotto and water features were completed in 1931, and Mirror Lake was created. All the while, the massive flowering shrubs being brought in by Thublin’s crew were carefully placed among newer arrivals.

The Gardens opened to the public in 1932, and Thublin continued to assist with the growing of flowers for the grounds until his death at the age of 75 in 1943.

Like his clients, the Bellingraths, he is buried in Mobile’s Magnolia Cemetery. Nothing remains of his nursery operations on nearby Marine Street.

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By Cory Sparks
Director of Development

Bellingrath has two museums on our property. One is the beautiful historic Home with its collection of precious antiques. The other is a living museum—our plant collection. We feel a connection to the Bellingraths when we tour the home and hear their love story. The Bellingraths are also present in the treasured azaleas and camellias that built our global reputation as a tourist destination.

The Bellingraths had a great love and deep knowledge of both azaleas and camellias. Just as we preserve their Home, we have a responsibility to honor their love of plants and the Gardens by maintaining and enhancing the living collection. Director of Horticulture Jeremy Schmidt and Horticulture Projects Manager Sarah Brecher have been developing a pathway for the collection to meet the highest global standards. We’re certain the collection will delight visitors in the same way it would have brought joy to the Bellingraths.

You’ll hear more about Jeremy and Sarah’s work in the weeks and months to come. The detailed plan includes sections on cataloging our plants and placing identification in the garden. It places special emphasis on diversifying the collection. We’re grateful to longtime nurseryman and Friend of Bellingrath Maarten Van Der Giessen for sharing more than 200 azalea cultivars as he retires from his business. Jeremy and Sarah have put weeks of work into preparing a growing space near the greenhouses where 311 of the plants can be grown. We’ll use the cuttings to fill the gardens with many more varieties than are currently in the Gardens. As a bonus, the diversity will extend our blooming season within a couple of years. It’s a time-consuming and expensive process, but a fitting tribute to the Bellingraths as we prepare for our second century.

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