Bellingrath Gardens and Home

I would like to say that I am not a big fan of flower gardens and I do seek value in the places I go and what I do. That said, this is a place that I took my wife on Valentine’s Day. I don’t think I could have made a better choice! I was impressed! And as they say — That Ain’t Easy. It was clean, beautiful and everyone was very polite. The gardens are truly something to see and the mansion was fantastic. I have toured homes in Newport, RI, and this home might have impressed me more. I am not sure if I would feel too warm touring in the middle of summer, and I am not sure it would be a place to take small children, but as far as I am concerned, it was wonderful. Going there was a Valentine’s Day to remember.

Beautiful lights the they have everything from traditional to flowers and under sea lights.

So beautiful. If time permits do the house and gardens tour. The history behind it is very interesting. We go at Christmas time when they have the lights up. It really is fabulous! Great date night!

Visiting Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a delightful respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. It’s a serene stroll through nature and has a conservatory, nature walks and water features. Plants and flowers galore! I like to go to Bellingrath before I go to the nursery to get ideas for my annual planting and landscaping renewal. I find flowers and plants that I love and then specifically target them at the nursery. (There is a very good nursery nearby, Shore Acres Plant Farm). A must do is to visit Bellingrath Gardens from November 27^th to January 2^nd for The Magic of Christmas Lights, it is really a knockout with many planned activities around it. Whenever you go, prepare to have your blood pressure lowered and to say «ahhh» a lot. :)

The gardens are beautiful and will probably take you about a few hours to walk through them. We were mostly amazed with the home and recommend paying for a tour of it. The tour guide was so friendly and knew much about the home and the local area. All the staff throughout the gardens are very nice and helpful.

I checked the Bellingrath Gardens website and Facebook page this morning and they have photos of beautiful azaleas stating that they are peaking. Not so. Many are dead and have been gone for a while. As far as azaleas my visit was very disappointing. I love Bellingrath but they should not mislead people. I met folks there from out of town that planned their trip according to what the website said hoping to see the azaleas at their peak. They were very disappointed. Shame on you Bellingrath Gardens!

Bellingrath is pure beautifulness. Great romantic spot, and lovely flowers and scenery everywhere. It huge and will take a long while to walk the entire grounds, but it is stunning. Very calm and relaxing. Very cute little gift shop and friendly staff. Can’t wait to go back and explore the parts we missed.

We really liked the Christmas lights. Very well done and organized. It’s not just for kids. Adults will love this too.

Heaven. I must have died and gone to heaven. That’s what I kept thinking when I went to visit Bellingrath. Out loud I kept saying, «I’m so happy I’m here. I’m so happy to be here. Oh look at how pretty that is. And that. And that!» I know, I’m bit overly enthusiastic.
But you guys. This place totally deserves all the overly enthusiastic reviews it can get. It is jaw dropping beautiful. I mean just sinfully gorgeous. 65 acres of gorgeousness. When I came the roses were in bloom which just so happens to be the first area you walk into after paying for the admission price… which, by the way, was super reasonable. ($ 12.50 for the self guided garden tour.) As I was walking around the rose garden, I knew all that I had envisioned this place to be would even exceed my lofty aspirations. And it did. It just kept getting better and better. I cannot tell you how perfect this place is.
The flowers, the trees and the little paths. The koi pond, the waterways, fountains and little waterfalls. Perfection.
If this tells you nothing else, know this. I live three hours away from Bellingrath and fell in love with it so hard that I became a member just now just so that I can go as often as I like this summer with my kids.
Plan to spend at least two hours there. Don’t forget water, sunscreen, a camera and good walking shoes. Also, prepare to fall head over heels in love.

Beautiful property, lots of great views and flowers. Many opportunities for picture taking. The only downside is the town its in (Theodore) is pretty bad.

Pleasant, beautiful way to spend a few hours. Unfortunately the boat tour is no longer in operation (at least not during our visit in March 2014), but the house & grounds are still worth visiting. Gorgeous flowers year-​round, loved the Bayou Boardwalk. Everything was well maintained, and though not needed for my group, noticed handicapped ramp options. Worth a stop if you’re in the area and enjoy botanic gardens. Plan on spending 2 – 3 hours.

Stop and smell the roses. Unless they’re all dead.
In October 2013 during one of my trips to Mobile I decided to stop by Bellingrath. It was not too far from the hotel I was at and was (kind of… not really) on the way to Gulf Shores.
The day I went was exceptionally hot, so I kind of ran through in about 45 minutes, but this could definitely be a longer tour.
The gardens are stunning and very well kept. With many flower varieties, a sexy mermaid pool, large sparkling Mirror lake and large gorgeous trees, Bellingrath definitely ranks high on my list of gardens I’ve visited. There were many spots that I would have loved to just sit and read, have a picnic, or take photos. If I lived in the area this would probably be the ultimate wedding venue. It’s no wonder the gardens is home to many of natures creatures (creepy crawlies all over the place marked by magnificent and fascinating spider webs… yucky and glorious all in one).
Be sure to have your camera ready to capture azaleas, roses, chrysanthemums, hibiscus, live oaks and copper plants, just to name a few. Obviously, what you may see will vary depending on the season you visit. I believe a cruise also runs along the lake. I wish I had obtained more information on that.
4 stars instead of 5 because I think this time of year, they should discount the tickets. One of the main attractions here is the rose garden, and of course in October there wasn’t much to look at (definitely no aroma to enjoy). Also, along the path it would be nice to be able to purchase a bottled water or other cold beverage. I failed to being my water bottle and was actually not far off from passing out when I made my way back. Again, it was a very hot day, but I’m surprised there wasn’t a snack shop or vending machine half way in. Maybe there was and I just couldn’t locate it.
At the end, there was a very large gift shop (where thankfully I did grab a cold beverage) with some nifty gifts. Overall, the gardens were well worth the detour to the beach.

When we came here, I had no idea what I was in for. I can’t say anything bad about this place. I call it Heaven on Earth actually. The place is HUGE, very clean, the smell of the flowers just enlighten your mood. The tour inside of Mr. Bellingrath’s home takes me back to the early 1900’s. They were installing the Christmas lights when I went, but I saw photos days later and they looked spectacular.
The food they have in the little dining area near the gift shop is really good. I got a roast beef sandwich with cheese, a coke of course, and cheesecake. I think all for under $ 7? It was really good. I can’t wait to go back!

I can’t 5 star it just because this is well off of the beaten path, but what an experience! This was a private home in the ‘30s to a cola executive and it is lovingly maintained.
The Christmas lights are amazing and rated one of the best in the U.S. Don’t miss it!
The grounds are on the River and the plantings are well-​maintained. Any month of the year you will have sensory overload. There is plenty of walking/​strolling to be done and photo opps at every bend.
The house tour is separate and worth it if you are not already pooped out.
This is a Mobile area must-​do. Just know it is a bit secluded and plan accordingly.

I will never, ever get tired of coming here. Bellingrath Gardens and Home was once a private residence that has been welcoming visitors since the 1930’s (I learned that on the tour of the home). Some of the sights here are just stunningly beautiful.
The gardens still feel to me almost like a well kept secret because they are more than a little off the beaten path. Once you get to the town of Theodore, Alabama and turn onto Bellingrath Road you’ve still got eight more miles to go. During that drive you will think more than once, «Where am I??»
The foliage you’ll see depends on the time of year that you visit. I’ve never been able to make it for the annual Christmas light festival, which I deeply regret. If you take your time and appreciate what you’re looking at you could spend hours here. The greenhouse is filled to brim with exotic plants. One of my favorite parts is the area around the private home. There are little streams that have been constructed from stone and they snake through the area past statues and flowers until the water eventually goes downstream into the river. Obviously it wasn’t there back when the Bellingraths were alive, but I enjoy walking on the (surprisingly long) boardwalk that circles into the woods and over the body of water near the gardens.
The tour of the Bellingrath’s private home was really interesting. You couldn’t help but wonder what a dinner party would be like here back in the day. We purchased a tour of the house separate from the garden admission ticket. I enjoyed the tour but wouldn’t have a reason to do it again. I thought that it was brilliant that they signs throughout the gardens with a number you could call on your cell for more information about what you were looking for. It felt like our private tour of the home continued even after our tour guide left us.
My only complaint was that this time the area around Mirror Lake seemed pretty barren. I’ve seen it many times where it was amazingly decorated, but we could have just hit at a bad time when things weren’t blooming yet.

This was my 4^th visit and I love it every time. The fountains are beautiful. Wish my yard looked this great!

3÷8÷2013 me and the wife stopped here and this was amazing. The place took us all day to walk and look around and take photos. This place gets a solid 5 stars. the staff was great. we did a tour of the house and took the boat ride. I would recommend this place to every one who has never been here or who loves gardens.

I came here during the summer to see the beautiful gardens, and I just visited again to see the Magic Christmas in Lights. It was absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed the variety of themes throughout the garden. It was a bit crowded, but I guess that adds to the Christmas spirit. M favorite was the lake view of everything. I would really recommend coming here during the winter lights.

Discovered this place in 1999 and later revisited in 2011. Wonderful experience both times. The Christmas light display is massive and worth the admission price.

While in search of yarn during my visit to Mobile, we traveled down to Theodore. On the way to Wellslee Markeplace, we came across signs for Bellingrath Gardens. Thanks to the technology of the iPhone, we learned that it closed around 5 p.m. and our yarn excursion would be the adventure for the day.
The next day, the bf and I headed to Bellingrath Gardens and Home. Both of us had never been there, so I didn’t know what to expect. It definitely wasn’t a plantation house where I could reenact my Gone with the Wind fantasies, instead, it was a cool house and gardens experience that I throughly enjoyed.
After paying the reasonable admission fees by Chicago standards ($ 18 person for gardens and home), we ventured through the gardens. The gardens are well marked in directing you where to go. First, we encountered the rose garden which I can only imagine how beautiful it will in the spring. We then walked into the greenhouse filled with neat plants. The gardens are huge and expansive while lining the surroundings of the house.
After touring the gardens and the porcelain gallery, we had the best tour ever given to us by the housekeeper. She showed great enthuasism for her job and the house’s history. The house is amazing. I fell in love with the lush linens that Mrs. Bellingrath adorned her home with. The modern bathrooms showed Mr. Bellingrath’s love of technology. My favorite room of the house was the kitchen. It’s such a dream kitchen, white with German nickel countertops. The cabinets are lined with amazing cookie jars that Mrs. Bellingrath won in an auction lot. I wish that the gift shop would reproduce it because I really liked them. I also wished that they reproduced some of the neat prints that lined the walls of the home especially the one near the bedroom of a camellia or magnolia with Mrs. Bellingrath’s signature on it. So cool.
After our great tour, we continued to walk the gardens for another hour or two. The different gardens were great to explore and admire. I had so much fun spending a lazy day touring the gardens and home. I would recommend to anyone to visit Bellingrath Gardens because it’s a fun time with some history, flowers, and a beautiful setting.