Wednesday, March 28, 2012

bellingrath gardens

We are heading to Alabama today...doing our road trip in reverse.  Not far from Mobile, Alabama...we toured Bellingrath Gardens.    The gardens and home were the creation of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bellingrath...and have been open to the public since 1932.  Walter owned the Mobile Coca-Cola Bottling Company...and was the original founder of the Waterman Steamship Company.  I'm thinking he liked gardening in his spare time!  The gardens are open year-round...since there is always something in bloom. 



The azaleas on the 65-acre estate were in full bloom...



...and made a delightful backdrop for the southern belles that strolled the paths!



The Bellingrath home was also open for tours...though we opted to spend our time in the gardens.


It will be a few weeks before our azaleas are in full bloom...so I enjoyed the sneak pre-view!



Bellingrath Gardens is worth a visit...if you are ever in the deep south!  Next stop...Gulfport, Mississippi.

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful show of a garden...I want a Southern Belle...is that really a job? Can you imagine? Strolling about in a lovely dress and answering questions and looking that darling? I suppose in July it could be a problem.

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  2. Phenomenal pics! Love the reflection of the azalea blooms. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Great strolling paths in a lovely garden, we've enjoyed them too.

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  4. Just gorgeous and what a fun addition to have that Southern Belle strolling the grounds!

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  5. Hmmm...the azalea look pretty peak season in those shots taken weeks ago. The Masters golf game is played in an azalea bounded course and the flowers are such a visual signature of the event...the game begins this weekend. Wonder if the flowers will be gone there by then? I do know they will bank the plants in ice cubes to slow down blooming when necessary.

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  6. Gorgeous stunning azaleas...I could stand some of that bloom in my garden right about now..
    A few more weeks. It must of been absolutely beautiful strolling through those gardens trying not to think of the dismal weather back home.

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  7. DOUBLE WOW! So beautiful - your pictures are stunning!

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  8. Thanks for sharing such a lovely place to visit. The Southern Belles remind me of the dresser dolls that were popular years and years ago. What a beautiful park to stroll through!

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  9. Our azaleas here are just opening. They are always a welcome sight. The southern belle looks just right strolling among these lovely flowers.

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  10. Lovely! We do love our azaleas here in the south. Mine bloomed early and are now fading. A shame they won't be pretty for Easter pics.

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  11. Oh you must have felt like true spring had arrived right on schedule. I love the colors and the southern belle. Did they have them roaming about as part of the garden attraction? Lovely.

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  12. What a beautiful place. You'll have double the pleasure, as soon the gardens near you will be full of azaleas and rhodos.

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  13. We've been there! And you're right, it's a pretty place for a springtime visit.

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  14. Oooooooooooooooooo - oops, I better close my mouth! LOVE all your photos! Wish I was there! We'll have places like this in heaven, right? If this beauty already exists down here, just imagine......

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  15. How wonderful!!! What a lovely tour..... however, bet you will be glad to be home AGAIN!!

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  16. What a gorgeous garden! The "Southern Belles" realy add to the experince, I'm sure.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson