Like a pageant in four acts, each with a climax—that is the description of the “Charm Spot of the Deep South” known all over the world as Bellingrath Gardens of Mobile, Alabama. Here in these world-famed Gardens the show goes on throughout the year, with each season putting on a new act, and bringing forth a new spectacle—a continual parade of changing colors to enchant the visitor every month of the year.

Formerly a semitropical jungle, Bellingrath Gardens are now a perfumed theatre, the air sweet from the mingled odors of growing plants and flowers. A symphony of fragrance! That’s the orchestra to this flowering performance in this sixty-acre garden, the owners of which were Mr. and the late Mrs. Walter D. Bellingrath. Theirs was a magician’s art, and from a wild, untamed land of magnolias, moss-draped live and water oaks, bays and pines, they have wrought a spectacular scene of color. Every twenty feet in Bellingrath Gardens is a vista, some special picture, a never-to-be-forgotten view. There are murmuring fountains and singing cascades and flagstone paths that breathe romance. It is indeed a paradise for nature lovers, a rare and lovely garden that justifies a thousand-mile journey, and each year thousands come from afar and view this marvelous spectacle.

ACT I.

There’s a beauty that beggars description. That is the beauty one finds in Bellingrath Gardens. The first act of the Bellingrath Gardens Show opens in October, when the wondrous Camellias begin to bloom. The Camellia Japonica has no equal in the plant world for its beauty and fitness for the glorification of the home and garden. A native of Japan, it was introduced through European channels to Mobile about one hundred years ago. Possibly some five or six hundred varieties exist, embracing many types and colors. Pure white through every shade of pink to deep red and crimson, ending with some blooms having a decided purplish cast, no other flowering plant can give such a diversity of types, a range baffling description. Singles, semidoubles, peony flowering types, some with dense pompon centers, other shaggy flowers with center petals whirled and twisted, full doubles of every conceivable type. Again some varieties are solid colors, others have variegation through the petals; some are mottled; others are striped and others have petals of various colors throughout the flowers. The varieties of Camellia Japonica having a tendency to show variegation are a never-ending source of expectation and admiration. The charm and amazing variety of the Camellia Japonica found in Bellingrath Gardens quickly convince the visitor that here is one of the most remarkable collections of this beautiful flowering shrub ever gathered together. Small wonder that Act I is an invariable success.

ACT II.

In the middle of Act I the Camellia Japonica is joined by its costar, the Azalea, and together they march on triumphantly to the enthusiastic applause of an appreciative audience. During January and February the Camellia Japonica reaches its heights, graciously yielding the spotlight to the glorious Azalea as the scene changes from winter to spring. There are no fitting words to describe the colorful and appealing drama of the dainty Camellia Japonica meeting the glorious Azalea when both are at their best. It is an act that never fails—a spectacle never to be forgotten.

Of the countless number of words written to describe the beauty that catches the eye during Act II, nothing yet has been written or said to do justice to the varicolored Azalea plants in their fullest bloom. “The Flaming Drama of the South” it has been appropriately called in Better Homes and Gardens. The plants range in size from the midget variety to those ancient bushes that grow to the extent of over 100 feet in circumference, with their histories dating back over two centuries. When the Azalea plant is in full bloom, every vestige of foliage is entirely smothered in the crimson, coral, white or purple flowers that the bush may bear. It is not surprising that the startling performance of the amazingly brilliant Azalea should be rewarded by a tremendous ovation from an enthralled audience of many thousands. Nowhere in the world is the gorgeous Azalea found in a setting so fitting as in Bellingrath Gardens.

ACT III.

Slowly recovering from the rapture and absorbing drama of the Azalea in full bloom, Bellingrath Gardens open Act III in their charming spring dress. Various shades of green stand out in relief as young leaves take the place of old. Ancient live oaks, water oaks, bays, magnolias, cedars, pines, holly and dogwood take on new hues and assume their roles in this show with magnificent beauty and splendor. Mountain Laurel and the double-flowered white Spiraea brighten the stage with their delicate blossoms. The colorful Hydrangea and the fragrant Gardenia do a specialty act of their own that is one of the hits of the season.

ACT IV.

New actors and actresses add their beauty to the cast as summer drifts by. The Crepe Myrtle, the Oleander, the Magnolia, the Hibiscus, the Allamanda and numerous other colorful flowers help make the Bellingrath Gardens Show the wonderful pageant that it is. Summer fades into fall, and as the final curtain is lowered the audience reluctantly leaves with happy smiles and fond memories of the “Charm Spot of the Deep South”: of dexterous landscaping: of gray Spanish moss draping branches of noble oaks and cypresses and forming backdrop curtains for the thrilling drama continuously being produced way down South in Bellingrath Gardens.