Theodore, AL

We are in Theodore, AL, just south of Mobile. The big attraction is Bellingrath Gardens, one of the top public gardens in the U.S.

Walter Bellingrath, president of Mobile’s first Coca-Cola bottling plant; and his wife Bessie purchased a former fishing camp on the banks of the Fowl River in 1917. The property was overgrown so it was pruned and cleared for a grand expanse of gardens and opened to the public in 1932. The gardens cover 65 acres and boast a bloom every day of the year.

In 1935 they built a lavish home on the grounds, for which his architect salvaged materials from 19th-century Mobile. The home is framed by oaks dripping with Spanish moss. There are many dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms with tile, sitting rooms, etc. The home has become a modern-day museum, filled with fine art, treasured antiques, furniture, silver, china, crystal and cut glass, and the country’s largest collection of Boehm porcelain.







They also had an Oriental American Garden with huge flowers on the lily pond, a butterfly garden, conservatory, many brick patios, fountains, terraces and a boat dock.