Tom Johnson, the affable former executive director of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens who was one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on camellias and azaleas, died Tuesday after a car accident near his home in Hamilton, Ga.
He was 63. Funeral arrangements have not been set as of the time of publication.
“Nobody is going to replace him,” former Magnolia colleague Kirk Ryan Brown said today. “I miss him already.”
Johnson, a native of Perry, Ga., joined Magnolia in 2007 after serving as the national horticulturalist for the American Camellia Society in Fort Valley, Ga. Johnson, who retired from Magnolia in 2021, was poised to become the president of the Azalea Society of America early next year.
Before joining Magnolia, Johnson helped former President Jimmy Carter landscape the grounds around his presidential library in Atlanta. Johnson’s Tuesday death came on the first anniversary of the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
A big heart
Johnson often described himself as “conservative” and a “redneck.” But his wife, Mary Ann Johnson, said that was a way to mask his big heart.
He was, in fact, a larger-than-life figure – the kind of guy who didn’t back down from challenges, such as an invitation in Cuba a few years back to ride a white Brahman bull.
Summerville resident Ted Simonetta worked at Magnolia as a volunteer for 18 years. When asked to share a funny story about Johnson, he said, “Most of his stories are funny. That’s the problem. My big thing with Tom is he always tried to come across as a good old country boy. I told him you are not as dumb as you like to make out.”
Johnson could take a joke, too.
“He was always kidding me about working for the post office and going postal,” said Simonetta, a retired postal employee. “I just told him just remember that.”
Simonetta said Johnson and his wife, who was the director of operations while at Magnolia, made a big impact at the historic attraction.
“He treated the volunteers like family,” Simonetta said. “We felt like we were actually wanted at Magnolia.”
He also liked to get his hands dirty, planting hundreds of azaleas, camellias and other flowering plants throughout Magnolia’s gardens. After retirement, he continued to plant and propagate, often selling plants at markets.
“To all of your friends on Facebook who will miss your shocking commentary, goofy antics and wit, lift him up on Thursday nights,” Mary Ann Johnson wrote today on the social media site.
Why Thursdays? Because that was Johnson’s beer night and time that he played on Facebook where he had thousands of connections. It allowed him to relax and flush any tensions from the week, one friend remembered.
The Camellia Man
Johnson was featured as “The Camellia Man” in the 50th anniversary issue of Southern Living.
In the article, he was as sassy and fun as he was during that 2015 trip to Cuba.
“A camellia is a man’s plant,” Johnson said in the opening line of the article. “That is because it’s pretty much idiot-proof, and men don’t really like to be challenged.”
The article highlights how the Georgia-born Johnson got a horticulture degree, worked for Carter and eventually made it to Charleston for a dream job at Magnolia, established in 1676. Just over 200 years later, a great-great-great grandson of the original owner started to transform the plantation by installing a series of romantic gardens. Assembling the largest collection of camellias became Johnson’s pleasant life’s work.
“A formal garden controls nature,” Johnson told the magazine. “But a romantic garden cooperates with nature. It is an extravagant liar. It ‘lies’ you into forgetting about your life outside the garden.”
An irreplaceable horticultural leader
Brown, who now lives in Allentown, Penn., is Magnolia’s former national outreach coordinator.
“Arguably, he is the last director of a major American public garden who could understand, identify and correctly interpret the idea of a true 19th century romantic garden. He was all about the passion of flowers, trees and nature being uncontrolled and yet beautiful in how it graces our lives.”
Brown remembered that he had just joined Magnolia in January 2019 when “Tom told me ‘let me let you into my genius. We are going to do a Chinese light show. Get started right away.’ That was my first assignment.”
During his tenure at Magnolia, Johnson also asked historic preservationist Joseph McGill Jr. to help evaluate the restoration of 1850s-era slave cabins at Magnolia.
McGill remembered commenting that he wanted to sleep in one of the cabins. And to his surprise, Johnson thought that was a good idea and he approved it.
“Tom Johnson held the key to the Slave Dwelling Project‘s existence,” said McGill, the project’s founder. “He didn’t laugh me out of the room when I made the request to sleep in my first slave cabin at Magnolia.
“Now 14 years and 25 states later, the Slave Dwelling Project is still going strong. Tom earned his honor from the enslaved ancestors while here on Earth. I’m sure he received a hearty welcome.”
During time in Charleston, Johnson also launched a horticultural exchange program with Magnolia and the Landscape Architecture School at the University of Versailles in Versailles, France.
North Charleston resident Kate White was the first American intern in 2011.
“He definitely helped to start my horticultural career,” said White, who is the director of horticulture for the Charleston Parks Conservancy. “He had a huge impact on the students who studied here from France.”
Herb Frazier and Andy Brack contributed to this story.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
