Mark Dunaway
Landscape Designer / Horticulturist

Mark was born overseas of American missionary parents and found himself surrounded by the most rural of environments, the African bushveld. Engulfed by rocks and rills and little else, he began a love affair with nature that has never ended. There his father taught him how to grow roses and vegetables in one of the harshest climates in the world.

Home schooled early in history (www.calvertschool.org ), he was drawn to the ancient architecture of the Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Then in high school the British Educational System taught him the Latin he thought he would never use.

Mark returned to the USA to enter college and rediscover his love of architecture in the classical vernacular of the Old South. A scholarship drew him to Belmont University, whose central building is The Belmont Mansion, (www.belmontmansion.com ), a splendid Italianate mansion completed in 1853. He spent much of his free time scavenging the countryside of The Old South in search of her many other examples of Greek and Classical Revival architecture, memorizing not just the architecture, but what remained of the gardens.

After completing his required courses at Belmont, Mark transferred to Auburn University to complete his bachelor's degree in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture. He found his "useless" Latin to be extremely useful in the College of Agriculture. Upon graduation, he worked in Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee and Kentucky in various branches of the Landscape Nursery Industry, all the while expanding his knowledge of rare plant materials, architectural styles, and landscaping specialties like Xeriscape Landscape and Southern Native Plants.

In the 1990's Mark contracted as a Landscape Analyst with national real estate developers and other corporations, with a portfolio of work that stretched from coast to coast. His knowledge of plant materials, landscape design, landscape installation, and maintenance proved to make him a trusted advisor to companies such as Crescent Resources, UPS, Trammell Crow and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals. In the years prior to his time at Turf Tamer Inc., Mark had his own landscape design practice in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. There his designs combined water features, decks, pergolas, gazebos, swimming pools, patios and outdoor kitchens with unique plant materials, in both commercial and residential settings. Mark's work through the years reflects a confidence with colors, textures, balance, garden history and architectural design theory that he combines with a thorough knowledge of season -by-season maintenance to create landscape designs that please the eye without overworking the homeowner. His skills with easycare plant materials, botany, and landscape maintenance make him a rare designer who understands good landscape "from the soil up."

Mark is married to Diane (ne: J. Diane Snoddy) formerly of Brentwood, TN, and they have two daughters, Julia and Elyse. His hobby is raising roses organically (yes, even Hybrid Teas). He enjoys staying active in church and teaching Sunday School. He is available for lectures on various subjects like Historic Landscape Design & Restoration, No-Spray Roses, Wildflower Meadows, and Native Plants.