Named One of the Top 5 Gardens
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Meet Our Donors
The Restorative Powers of Beauty
John Hawks, Trustee and a member of the Ladew Society, explains why he and his wife, Faith Nevins, have decided to include Ladew in their wills.
John and Faith Nevins Hawks grew up not far from Ladew. It was a place they thought they knew, and en- joyed in the usual ways: tours of the gardens in different seasons, a concert or two. Then, in 2010 John and Faith decided to step up their support and became members of Ladew’s Patron Circles, “the kudzu circle” laughs John, and began to see the gardens through different eyes. “We got to know the gardeners better, and the administrative staff... and saw another layer of what goes on here.” John compared it to how understanding a painter’s technical skill - his use of color, or brush strokes - can help you appreciate a painting more profoundly and in a way that deepens the emotional impact of its beauty.
John is mostly retired, Faith an architect. She under- stands the importance of designing structures and spaces not just for function but to create environments that make contact with the human soul. For John, Ladew is just such a place: Ladew is seen as a beautiful celebration of the genius of Harvey Ladew’s design and, together with the house, an icon of another time. However, these are living, growing gardens; the sentient experience and insight they provide to visitors and the many life and school lessons they can teach our youth are not of another time, they are current and relevant now. Transcending Mr. Ladew’s original intent, perhaps, John strongly believes that the gardens and beauty are healing and restorative for the human mind, spirit and body.
A generation too young to have known Mr. Ladew as a neighbor, John and Faith’s increasingly personal connection to Ladew came from a different source. As John puts it, “for us it was the knowledge that through the education programs at Ladew, thousands of children get to visit this multifaceted place — the Iris Garden, the Great Bowl — and learn how to understand beauty, not just in its wild sense but in this potent, concentrated form”.
For John and Faith, joining the Ladew Society by making a planned gift in their wills, was the clear next step. Businessman John: “It’s a tool in the tool box: Ladew met our criteria for annual support, and a legacy gives us the opportunity to do something even more significant in the future. In addition to the many estate planning advantages, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we will help provide the means to keep these important, life-enhancing activities going. This garden isn’t of another time; it is a living breathing place, now! And people, like us, who support the Gardens need to be here now too, stepping up and supporting in all the ways we can.”
