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Just a couple of weeks ago, Bellingrath Gardens & Home embarked, officially, on a path toward a long, but detailed, vision for the future – our Centennial Master Plan. The vision captured and communicated by this plan sees both the restoration and reinvigoration of beloved, historic spaces, combined with an infusion of new features that will grace BGH as it grows forward toward its 100th anniversary of being open to the public. Despite our long history, being publicly accessible since 1932, this master plan represents, to the best of my knowledge, only the second treatment in viewing and envisioning the boundaries and configurations of BGH’s used property since our founding by Walter and Bessie Bellingrath when they worked with George Bigelow Rogers starting in 1927. As such, we take this process as both serious and sacred.
The quote about planning, used in my title for this column, and often attributed to Dwight Eisenhower, is apropos here for a few reasons. 1) We have laid out a grand vision that we are now embarking upon. 2) This vision is only “initial” in the sense that detailed planning work, per any defined “phase,” must be carried out after the master (holistic) plan was done. 3) Assuredly, some other great ideas will be had in the coming years as we enact this plan. The process of planning, therefore, will continue for years to come, but the Centennial Master Plan will exist as our guide, beacon, and compass.
The first project that speaks to the level of detail and quality of work that we are undertaking via the Centennial Master Plan is actually already underway – the restoration of the Summer House. In fact, this project should be completed by early 2026. Representing an investment of around $150,000 in Bellingrath Gardens & Home’s past, present, and future, the Summer House will continue to serve as a restful, shaded structure, but it will also anchor the future, reopened Camellia Arboretum a few years hence.
Through the Summer House’s success, we have pivoted to “The Historic Core,” which comprises our first major area of BGH that we are studying and looking to restore and reinvigorate. After the public reveal of the Centennial Master Plan on October 14, key BGH staff participated in a two-day design workshop for Phase 1. Initial work that was done during these two days revealed a great excitement for the Historic Core, the portion of the gardens that exists between the Fowl River and Mirror Lake, as well as honest assessments on commonly seen areas that need to be refreshed. Through this workshop, a vision was honed to bring out the best of this critical space while also realizing opportunities for new spaces to be developed. This design phase – Schematic Design, to be precise – will conclude by next summer, after which we will follow-on to “Design Development,” where engineering work and highly detailed designs, including material selection, will occur. By a year from now, we should be underway in creating construction drawings, which will allow us to fully understand implementation costs for all aspects of Phase 1 – The Historic Core – its restoration and reinvigoration.
Now, to some of you readers, this may all seem like a bunch of gibberish. Again, however, I point to Eisenhower’s wisdom via my column title. Reroofing older service buildings, repairing aged water wells and pumps, and replacing worn-out HVAC units all requires planning of some sort, right?! But, the level of detail and involvement for these types of projects pales in comparison to the concept of “restoring and reinvigorating the Historic Core of Bellingrath Gardens & Home.” As such, the hours, days, weeks, and months spent now in the planning process will only lead to orders of magnitude levels of improvements and documentation of our plans and goals to bring Bellingrath Gardens & Home forward. And this, will allow us to conduct the necessary fundraising work that it will take to see these projects to their ultimate and happy conclusion.
We ask you to join us on this exciting journey.