Canadian Hugh M. G. Garden first arrived in Chicago in the 1880s, where he apprenticed as a draftsman working for Howard Van Doren Shaw, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright among others. In 1895, he partnered with Richard Schmidt to form Schmidt and Garden. Their commissions were primarily commercial and public park buildings. Edgar Martin joined the firm in 1906.

Significant buildings include the Montgomery Ward warehouse and the Ambassador Hotel. By 1926, Martin left the group and Carl A. Erickson became a new partner. Later work included the Julia C. Lathrop Homes.

Hugh Garden's creative use of ornament was distinctive enough to merit the descriptor "Gardenesque.” He was known for his delicate sense of proportion.

Some local commissions include:

• 1906: "Longmeadow," Edward Craft and Mattie Belle Fiske Green, 95 South Waukegan Road. English Arts and Crafts style. Later renovation by Stanley Anderson.
• 1906: "Norton Place," Charles Dyer and Katherine Garrison Norton, 550 East Deerpath. Landscape by Jens Jensen.
• 1910: Edward Lionel and Helen Lord Hasler, 185 Vine Avenue. Landscape by Jens Jensen.
• 1911: Charles F. Paxton; James Henderson and Inez Boynton Douglas, 910 North Green Bay Road. Tudor style. Landscape by Jens Jensen.
• 1911: Martin D. and Amelia McLaughlin Hardin, 1145 North Green Bay Road.