Bellingrath Gardens and Home

Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a 65-acre public garden and historic estate located near Mobile, Alabama, on the Fowl River. It is best known for its extensive cultivated gardens surrounding a historic family home.

The property contains approximately 65 acres of formal and informal gardens, including terraces, reflecting pools and wooded walks with seasonal plantings. Garden highlights include large azalea and camellia displays in spring and extensive mixed-border plantings through the year.

The historic home on the estate is presented on guided tours that show period furnishings and the family’s collections. The grounds also host events and an annual holiday lights display that draws many visitors.

The gardens and home were developed in the early 20th century by Walter and Bessie Bellingrath as a private estate and later opened to the public. The site has been maintained as a public garden and historic house museum to preserve the landscape and the family’s legacy.

The estate sits on the Fowl River near the Mobile Bay area in southern Alabama, within the Theodore/Mobile region. The nearest major city is Mobile.

• Holiday lights: Open year-round with notable holiday light displays each December that attract large crowds.
• House tours: Guided house tours explain the Bellingrath family's history and the home's original furnishings and collections.

What to See #

• Bellingrath Home: A private residence built in the early 20th century that is open for guided tours; the house sits within the larger garden estate and contains period furnishings and decorative arts associated with the Bellingrath family.
• Formal gardens: Designed garden areas covering formal beds, a reflecting pool and wooded walks that together make up about 65 acres of cultivated landscape, with seasonal displays of azaleas, camellias and other flowering plants.