![]() “Somehow, word had reached the college that Bellingrath Gardens’ camellias had been devastated by Hurricane Frederic. She had served as president of the Memphis Garden Club and was the Garden Club of America’s only merit award winner from Memphis. Gooch had been well known for her horticultural interests. At the time, the gift was the largest single bequest ever made to the college. Gooch, a long-time supporter of the college, died and left to Rhodes a sizeable portion of her estate, consisting of extensive stock holdings and real estate, including her magnificent East Parkway home, where the gardens encompassed a full city block. A few months later, his fraternity was asked to assist in the Bellingrath Gardens restoration effort. Mobilian Scott Rye was a freshman at Rhodes College in Memphis (one of three colleges that benefit from the Bellingrath-Morse Foundation) when the storm struck. Sidney Meadows of Flowerwood Nursery assisted in getting hollies, camellias, cleyera and other plants. Many residents of Mobile and Baldwin Counties donated large azaleas and camellias for the restoration. George Downing, chairman of the Bellingrath-Morse Foundation, estimated that the final cost would be $9 million to $10 million - $4 million for the Gardens and $3 million to $6 million to repair the Home. ![]() The financial losses included $8,000 worth of poinsettias in the greenhouses. At least nine greenhouses were damaged beyond repair, and another seven were extensively damaged. The portion of the Gardens that included the Arboretum was permanently closed after Hurricane Frederic. What camellias survived faced a new problem: They had been thriving in partial shade, but were now in full sun, and suffered additional damage from the sudden increase in sunlight. The Camellia Arboretum had been planted beneath a pine forest, and these trees snapped and fell on the camellias. ![]() The Camellia Arboretum, which had been created in 1958, was essentially wiped out – a loss of 2,000 plants representing 750 varieties. All debris has been removed from this area, and a plan to rebuild will follow higher-priority Home repairs and landscaping.” Pendergrast described total devastation in the Asian-American Garden: “… almost every bamboo fence and moss-dripping tree has disappeared or is beyond repair. In a story dated December 9, 1979, Mobile Press-Register reporter Lolo Pendergrast wrote that more than one-half of a million cubic feet of debris had been removed at that point, “leaving a thick, pine-needled pile carpeting along the garden’s walkways.” Mirror Lake was filled with debris and had to be dredged. Rainwater flowed into the main floor space, damaging the floors, furniture, walls, baseboards and carpeting.Īt least two tornadoes swept through the Gardens during the storm, downing close to 3,000 trees. ![]() The porch roof fell to the front of the East Terrace. The Bellingrath Home lost many shingles, and its second floor, glassed-in porch shattered. The second-story porch of the Bellingrath Home was toppled during the storm. Today, the area is now filled with towering trees and is known as Live Oak Plaza. ![]() Most of the trees around the water feature known as Rebecca at the Well were destroyed. The newly opened areas meant that sections of the Gardens that were once decorated with shade-loving plants were now more suited for sun-loving flowers and shrubs. The combination of high winds and falling trees wiped out hundreds of the azaleas and camellias that Bessie Bellingrath had planted in the 1920s and 1930s. Hurricane Frederic, however, caused widespread devastation. After that storm, and the subsequent power outage, the staff purchased a generator to run the irrigation wells in similar emergencies. The winds from Camille toppled several large oaks. View of the back of the Delchamps Gallery of Boehm Porcelain from across Mirror Lake.Īt the time, the Gardens had been a thriving tourist attraction for 47 years and had sustained only minimal damage from other storms, most notably Hurricane Camille 10 years before. Bellingrath Gardens and Home was closed for six months as its staff struggled with the cleanup and repairs. When Hurricane Frederic struck the Gulf Coast on September 12, 1979, the storm dramatically altered the landscape that Walter and Bessie Bellingrath had created on Fowl River. Print □ PDF □ eBook □ Photographs courtesy of Mary Brownīy Sally Pearsall Ericson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations ![]()
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