About Us

Hugh Dargan, ASLA and Mary Palmer Dargan, ASLA are the principals of Dargan Landscape Architects located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia.

Hugh Dargan, a native of Darlington, South Carolina, received his degree in Landscape Architecture from The University of Georgia in 1973 and founded his firm that year. It was incorporated as Hugh Dargan Associates in 1984; in 2000 the name was changed to Dargan Landscape Architects to reflect the growth and expansion of the design studio. His longstanding interest in garden history led to his role as a founding board member of the Southern Garden History Society, the first American regional organization dedicated to the study and preservation of historically-significant gardens. He has served on the boards of the Cherokee Garden Library (Atlanta History Center) and the Atlanta-based, international organization, Gardens for Peace.

Mary Palmer Dargan, is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to earning her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU in 1981, she was education director and botanist at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Fine Art in Nashville. She is author of The Early English Kitchen Garden: Medieval Period to 1800. Continuing education has included professional courses at the Harvard School of Design. She has served on the National Advisory Committee of the Garden Conservancy, and is a former garden editor of Charleston Magazine. She serves on the board of the Cherokee Garden Library of the Atlanta History Center, and is a member of the Cherokee Garden Club (Garden Club of America). Mary Palmer Dargan joined the design studio in 1984; she became a principal in 1985.

The Dargans were married in Charleston, South Carolina in 1985. Together, they completed the British National Trust's course at West Dean in Sussex on Restoring Historic Landscapes that same year. In 1992, the Dargans were named by Southern Accents as two of the South's leading landscape architects; since then, their work has become increasing national in focus. Trophies and awards include both Regional and National Awards of Merit from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Several of their projects currently air on Ground Breakers and Secret Gardens Of... weekly, primetime television series produced by Home & Garden Television (HGTV). The Dargans’ projects have been featured in major gardening books and dozens of magazines and newspapers such as Garden Design, Southern Accents and The New York Times. They are also nationally known lecturers.

Both currently serve as Vice-Chairs of the Historic Preservation Professional Interest Group of the American Society of Landscape Architects—the largest and most active professional interest group in ASLA. For the past decade, the Dargans have consulted on site improvements at Brookgreen Gardens, home of the largest collection of outdoor sculpture in the world.