Hubert Bond Owens and Georgia Landscape Architecture

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Historic Architecture and Landscapes of Georgia: The Hubert Bond Owens and John Linley Image Collections at the Owens Library

Hubert Bond Owens and Georgia Landscape Architecture

Hubert Bond Owens (1905-1989) devoted his life to landscape architecture and environmental design education. Having graduated from the University of Georgia in 1926 with a degree in Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, he then studied Landscape Architecture at Harvard and Cornell before returning to the University of Georgia, where he earned a Masters degree in Education. In 1928 he joined the faculty of the University of Georgia and offered its first courses in Landscape Architecture.

Over the years, Owens developed the Department of Landscape Architecture, which led to the establishment of the School of Environmental Design in 1969. Owens served as its first Dean until he retired in 1973, when he was designated Dean Emeritus by the University Board of Regents. Active in the National Conference of Instructors in Landscape Architecture (which later became the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture), Owens fostered education of both University students and laymen. More than 500 students graduated with degrees in Landscape Architecture during his active teaching years; but his influence reached far beyond the University. Owens was the driving force behind the development of the Landscape Design Study Courses, adopted in 1958 by the National Council of State Garden Clubs to introduce the basics of landscape design to non-professionals. Thousands nationwide have profited from the course.

During the summers and in his spare time, Owens practiced landscape architecture both locally and nationally. He was responsible for the design of home grounds, subdivisions, housing projects, school grounds, industrial sites, hospital grounds, parks, college campuses, and roadside development projects in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Michigan. Owens served as the first Landscape Architect for the Georgia Highway Department from 1936 to 1938. He served as the first chairman of the Georgia Board of Landscape Architects (the state licensing board for landscape architects in Georgia) from 1958 to 1960, and was a member of the Georgia Art Commission. Owens was also involved in the early planning and design for Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Locally, Owens served on the Athens Zoning Appeals Board, was a member of the Trustee Preservation Society for Historic Athens, and served as President of the Athens Art Association.

In addition to the Founders Memorial Garden and other sites on the University of Georgia campus, he designed a number of fraternity and sorority house grounds and private gardens, the grounds of the Taylor-Grady mansion, and the grounds of the University President’s home.

An intellectual leader, Owens was active and respected in national and international professional circles. He served as President for both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the International Federation of Landscape Architects, and knew personally many of the national and international figures in Landscape Architecture. Among his international colleagues were John Oldham, Dr. Hans Werkmeister, Professor Arnold Weddell, Dame Sylvia Crowe, and Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. In a personal tribute to Owens in 1983, Jellicoe lauded him for "dedication toward an objective greater than oneself; . . . a personal integrity that is absolute; and . . . a love for humanity that overshadows all."