A lifetime of landscaping is rewarded

“Each year since 1971, they have gleaned through the profession and looked at people who had done something significant over time, and 2010 was my year,” said Daugherty. “I was really surprised. It was quite nice to receive such an award by this society.”

Daugherty grew up in Midtown and Buckhead, graduated from North Fulton High when Buckhead was still the ’burbs, and went on to study at Georgia Tech and Harvard. He got an early introduction to his career field by working in his family’s garden -- “whether I wanted to or not,” he said.

“My mother always gardened,” he said. “I also had an aunt who had a great way with shaping things, and she was a real tutor.

"I had always thought that I’d become an architect -- that was my aspiration. But when I started in the field after World War II, I saw buildings being built without, as far as I could tell, regard to the site. Landscape architecture was so attractive, and I found it easy to work with architects and planners to make the two fit together.”

In 1953, Daugherty started his own firm, which is still a leader in the field. His most recent contract involves redeveloping the Decatur Cemetery to make it a passive recreation space. One of his most memorable projects dates back to 1967, when he created the gardens at Canterbury Court, a retirement community on Peachtree Road.

“There were two residential lots that came together, and their common boundary was a slight valley,” he recalled. “Just the fact that we could create a garden in scale to a 9-story building was wonderful. We inherited the land and the trees and made the most of it with three loops for walking and about 18 small garden plots to entice people out of doors. That garden is still in place and heavily used.”

Through the years, Daugherty has often lent his expertise and talent to various causes, from Trees Atlanta to the forerunner of the city’s Urban Design Commission. He also helped establish Atlanta’s first arts festival in 1954 with a small outdoor exhibition he hosted on the grounds of his office, now the site of Whole Foods in Buckhead. The event was so popular that one year later, it moved to Piedmont Park.

Along the way, Daugherty and his wife Martha had four children. After 52 years of marriage, they still enjoy working together in the garden he created in front of the 1910 home they’ve lived in since 1971.

“My one small garden is the product of my deciding that even though I was living on a busy street, I didn’t want to see it,” said Daugherty. “And the last thing I needed was for the front door to open and a child escape out onto the street.

"So I enclosed the area to limit access, then I began to move shrubs -- I’m accustomed to digging things up -- and built a screen that’s now at least 25 feet high. You can’t see the house at all. But when I open my front door, I’m in a very nice, private garden.”

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