Magnolia Today

By the time John Drayton Hastie passed away in 2003, he had restored Magnolia Gardens to their former glory.  And rather than be interred in the historic Drayton family tomb along the Ashley River, Hastie chose to remain forever one with the gardens he loved.  His remains were cremated and placed in a large live oak tree near Magnolia’s famous Long Bridge – a tree reported to have been planted by the first American Drayton, Thomas, more than 300 years ago. 

As it has for eleven generations, Magnolia Gardens continues to run under the stewardship of the Drayton family.  Its Board of Directors consists of John Drayton Hastie’s two children and five grandchildren.  Managing director and CEO is youngest grandson Taylor Drayton Nelson, who trained under Mr. Hastie for three rigorous years before assuming management upon his grandfather’s death.  

“There’s never a dull moment,” Drayton Nelson says.   “There are so many aspects to this site including horticulture, ecology, wildlife management, and history.” Magnolia is active in working to preserve and protect the ecology of the Ashley River corridor, and the family also runs the Magnolia Plantation Foundation, which donates thousands of dollars annually to animal, environmental, educational, and historic preservation causes.  At the plantation, major new initiatives include the project “From Slavery to Freedom,” an excavation and interpretation of Magnolia’s “slave street,” and the documentation and restoration of Magnolia’s historic camellia collection.  Of course, the focal point of Magnolia remains its gardens – which Taylor Drayton Nelson and his family continue to beautify so that the “earthly paradise” for which the Reverend John Grimke Drayton strove can be enjoyed by many generations to come.