Bellingrath Gardens and Home: Alabama Charm and Enchantment

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we focus on a quintessentially Southern grand estate defined by its gardens.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home features Southern architectural design elements, evident primarily in the decorative cast-iron railings adorning balconies, patios, and even outdoor furnishings. The home is part of the gardens and the gardens are part of the home. Repurposed 19th-century brick borders the garden plots and surrounds features such as fountains, giving the 90-year-old property an even older appearance. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

Something is always in bloom at Bellingrath Gardens and Home near Mobile, Alabama. It’s difficult to say whether the majority of visitors to this 65-acre estate are drawn there more for its gardens or more for its spacious 15-room, 10,500-square-foot mansion, which is situated along the Fowl River.

Designed by Mobile architect George B. Rogers (1870–1945), the vast European-style manicured garden was created before the home’s construction. The garden features paths that wind past dozens of established flowering plants and bushes, from camellias to azaleas and hibiscus. Unsurprisingly, the home that sits on the property was also the brainchild of Rogers. It blends seamlessly with the gardens.