RICHARD HAWKE

Try and try again

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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.