Celebrating Julia Hawkins

Julia Hawkins and her husband Murray “Buddy”, helped organize the “Friends of Hilltop Arboretum” shortly after Hilltop Arboretum was dedicated to the Louisiana State University in March of 1982.  Murray served as the first board president.

Throughout the years, Julia, Buddy and Emory Smith and his wife, Annette, were great friends and spent many hours collecting and cultivating native plants around the state and planting them at the arboretum.  Julia’s front yard in University Acres still has the beech tree, now mature, along with many other plants that were given to her by Emory to populate her yard. 

Julia and June Gonce, another charter member of the Friends group, chaired Hilltop’s first plant sale – made up of “largely monkey grass and gum tree seedlings” according to Gonce. “We had one person who donated a bunch of aloe vera that was popular, and I think we raised $951.00, which was great back then.” 

Gonce said Julia kept a card file of people who contributed plants and their contact information, which proved to be very useful in connecting people with plants they wanted.  

Buddy and Julia would offer their home for Hilltop Garden Tours, where visitors would see their collection of driftwood and garden gnomes nestled among their woodland garden. 

Bob Dillmuth, another early Hilltop Friend’s member, said the Hawkins would sell their collection of drift wood affixed with bromeliads, orchids and ferns - a fixture the first 10 years of plant sales which would always sell out.

Julia had several birthday celebrations at Hilltop, one birthday celebration bald cypress trees, were planted in honor of her late husband. 

One of her last celebrations at Hilltop, honoring  her 103 birthday, was selling 103 of Taiwan cherry tree saplings (which sold in under one hour) and many copies of her self-published memoir “Magic Moments”. She received a framed citation from the mayor in recognition of the role she played in the beautification of Highland Road, and she planted a cherry tree near the cypress trees. The three-hour party was a grand success and Julia said: “Nothing could have topped it. It was the party to end all parties!” The event culminated the establishment of the Julia Hawkins Beautification Fund for the Friends of LSU Hilltop Arboretum. 

In her book, Magic Moments, Julia encouraged each of us to pay attention to those daily magic moments and find the joy in living every day.

 

Celebrating Julia Hawkins

Memorial donations may be made online at:

Memorial Donation

or mailed to:

Friends of Hilltop Arboretum
PO Box 82608
Baton Rouge, LA 70884

Questions? Call 225-767-6916 or email.