RICHARD HAWKE

Try and try again

AS DIRECTOR OF Ornamental Plant Research at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Richard Hawke evaluates perennials and woody plants for garden merit. In 2023, he received the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal & Award, which recognizes someone who has made an outstanding national contribution to gardening.

SCOTT BEUERLEIN: Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be at your current job.

RICHARD HAWKE: Although my college path seemed circuitous at the time, it was fairly linear in hindsight. I started in architecture, moved to landscape architecture after briefly toying with forestry, and finally landed on horticulture. It just felt right once I got there, and I thank Dr. Ed Hasselkus, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for inspiring me to pursue a degree and career in horticulture.

My mantra after graduation was "What now?" I'd done a summer internship at the Paine Art Center and Garden in Oshkosh but otherwise had limited practical experience and really no idea of the scope of horticultural possibilities. After a few disappointing and soul-sucking interviews at landscape companies, Ed suggested I do an internship at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I learned two important things from my internships-a public garden was where I belong, and I wasn't keen on doing landscape maintenance. I've always believed that internships are the perfect place to discover what you want to do as much as what you don't.