So, all those flowers I loved in New Orleans, but didn’t know the name of, were azaleas! They come in many different colors from white, to light pink, to this pink, to red.

Doesn’t this look like it should be a puzzle?

Azaleas and holly.

This was an old logging pond the Bellingrath’s cleaned out and fixed up. It seemed familiar to me—I swear I’ve seen it before on a puzzle, or something.

The house sits in the middle of all the gardens.

A courtyard that’s surrounded by the house on three sides. No pics were allowed in the house which is too bad, becasue it was beautiful. This was a close as I could get you. : )

This tree was just starting to bloom and it was stunning.

Another glimpse of the house.

This staircase leads down to the river and the boat dock. Apparently that was a favorite place for the Bellingrath’s nephews and nieces to hang out when they’d spend the summers with them.

This is the boat dock. It wasn’t so appealing on such an overcast day.

Another view of the beautiful gardens.

Here’s part of the home the Bellingraths built. They didn’t have any children and she died about 12 years before he did. He left his millions to turn his home and garden into a public museum in honor of his wife. Today, the entrance fees not only maintain the grounds, they also fund many scholarships and provide income to three colleges the Bellingraths supported.

More of the gardens. The landscaping is really beautiful.

I love this color.

Not only was it overcast, it was cold. We had to change into pants so we woldn’t freeze. (it was in the mid 60s)

The azalea bushes were huge.

Easter liliies, a little early.

Gorgeous orchids.

This hibiscus was the size of a dinner plate. The colors were spectacular.

Not sure what these are, but I loved them.

I liked this one because of the pineapples in the background. They were about 6 inches long. That gives you an idea of just how big the hydrangeas are.

The blue hydrangeas were almost the size of volleyballs.

This is part of the rose garden, which wasn’t blooming yet. In the background is a greenhouse.

This boardwalk goes over, along, and back over the estuary. It’s full of wildlife, including alligators. We didn’t see any, though.

There were even bamboo forests!

The weather worked perfectly for us. As we were getting ready to leave Bellingrath, the rain began to pour. I like this picture becasue of the lilac bush that climbed the evergreen and produced a couple stories of lilac flowers.