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.

Rogers, along with the property owners Walter and Bessie Mae Bellingrath, wanted the exterior and interior of the 1935 mansion to convey intimate homeyness, reminiscent of an English country house that had existed for decades. Their goal was to leave as many mature trees close to the structure as possible, as well as use recycled handmade bricks, cast iron, and paving stones salvaged from older, demolished homes and commercial buildings.

Rogers described the home and grounds as “English Renaissance” blended with 20th-century modernity. He used German silver (also referred to as white brass) for the kitchen countertops and installed the most current bathroom and kitchen fixtures and appliances available when the house was built.

Bellingrath was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and it’s open to the public for tours.

Fanlight transoms over French doors enable light to stream into the home’s sunroom, which overlooks the Fowl River. The exposed brick coordinates with the red-tiled paver flooring. The room serves as a more casual transition space between the gardens and the formal dining room. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

The dining room is Bellingrath’s largest room, at 30 feet long. A wall of French doors, which lead to the enclosed sunroom and the western courtyard, are crowned with ornate carved and gilded wooden cornices. The doors are draped with red silk damask that is trimmed in gold fringe. The opulence is enhanced by the ornate Czechoslovakian chandelier and mahogany Chippendale-style dining set that seats 10. The featured centerpiece is an embellished silver vase. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

The living room holds carved Victorian-style furniture upholstered with floral tapestry fabric. A chandelier hangs from a tray ceiling bordered by gold-painted molding, which sets off the room’s gold antique rug, waterfall-swag floral brocade draperies, and brass fireplace fender. The gold frames set off paintings of the Bellingraths by Jay Jacobs, the same artist who painted President Harry Truman’s official White House portrait. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

All the rooms in the Bellingrath home are decorated with the couple’s original furnishings. The hand-carved daybed at the foot of Bessie Mae Bellingrath’s rococo revival-style bed dates to about the mid-1800s. Daybeds were commonplace in affluent Southern homes and used primarily for afternoon napping, but they sometimes served as birthing beds. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

The central enclosed courtyard adds a Mediterranean element to the home’s architecture. The fountain on the right wall has a backdrop of colorful glazed tiles. Water from the fountain flows into a semicircular pool. The repurposed brick courtyard also features arched entryways and balconies decorated with recycled wrought iron. While established English ivy accentuates some of the arches, climbing roses are affixed to the walls and some of the balconies; additional flowering plants are featured seasonally. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

In one corner of Bellingrath’s expansive gardens is the conservatory, set off by a large concentric circle garden that features a multi-tiered fountain as its center. Two symmetrical reflecting fish ponds flank the main door of the conservatory, which was originally built to grow and showcase exotic tropical plants. Bellingrath Gardens & Home

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