Moving Earth

By Todd Lasseigne
Executive Director

Tackling Infrastructure and Projects at Bellingrath

This year, I’ve been writing a lot about infrastructure and projects here at Bellingrath Gardens & Home. August continues this trend, and in good ways, too, as in previous months. You see, although it’s wonderful to have a historic old home and historic gardens, it’s not ideal to have historic tractors, equipment, and irrigation systems. Over the past two years, we’ve undertaken significant projects to modernize our infrastructure, including:

Rebuilding our electrical infrastructure and installing new sewer infrastructure.
Purchasing a shiny new pickup truck (plastered with our beautiful brand), two new people movers, several new utility carts, a professional sprayer, a cherry-picker/lift, multiple new HVAC units, and numerous greenhouse components such as new unit heaters and exhaust fans.

Our work is far from complete. We’re looking forward to new potable water infrastructure, new well and irrigation systems, new telecommunications lines, more HVAC systems (unfortunately), and many other updates that you, our supporters and visitors, will hopefully never notice [tongue-in-cheek humor].

Replacing the Workhorse Tractor

Back in May, our 1985 Ford tractor—the workhorse for our Maintenance and Horticulture Departments—decided it had lifted its last load. Repair was not an option due to both expense and age. The 2019 Kubota, though a good tractor, was not heavy-duty enough to be our sole solution. Jeremy Schmidt (Director of Horticulture) and Ralph Drury (Maintenance Manager) set out to find a worthy replacement. We ended up purchasing a Caterpillar 420D series tractor from Thompson Tractor in Mobile—see the picture below. This equipment purchase will propel Bellingrath forward as we continue to tackle deferred maintenance projects and create new spaces as outlined in our master plan. Expect to see this tractor being put to use in many areas over the coming years! If you’d like to help us pay for this essential item, please contact Dr. Cory Sparks, BGH’s Development Director, at 251.783.1378.

Creating an In-Ground Nursery

Speaking of moving earth, another project recently completed (using the aforementioned tractor) is the creation of an in-ground nursery for our new azalea collection. With our new azalea accessions burgeoning due to the generosity of Maarten Van Der Giessen, we needed a place to plant them—so we can grow them, propagate from them, and evaluate their performance while their cutting-grown progeny grow to a suitable size for adding to the gardens. Jeremy undertook converting an old, unused part of our nursery—the former “East Field”—into this new azalea growing area. Not only was the woven black ground cloth fabric removed, but we also realized that the aged irrigation system for this growing area needed to be completely rebuilt! Jeremy removed the rusted-out metal irrigation pipes and installed a new PVC plastic irrigation system in short order. After this, we tapped into the decades-old pile of compost that had accumulated to the west of the greenhouse range. Jeremy was able to “turn” said compost (with the new Caterpillar tractor) and then blend a whopping 125 cubic yards(!) with the existing soil that had sat for decades underneath the black ground cloth of the former “East Field.” The picture below, which seems to “just” show an area of soil in front of Greenhouse 2, is actually the result of weeks of work undertaken by Jeremy. Pretty soon, we’ll be planting our stock azaleas here, with new soil and new irrigation ready to go!

Looking Forward

These projects are part of our broader master plan, guiding Bellingrath Gardens & Home into its second century. By addressing past maintenance issues and embracing new improvements, we’re excited about the future. We hope you’ll visit us and see these changes for yourself. Your continued support through memberships and donations is invaluable as we move forward.