Natural beauty product of careful landscape design

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A love of nature drew Springfieldian Steve Ownby to landscape design, and he earned his master's degree in landscape architecture from Kansas State University in 1970. Word-of-mouth has kept his firm, Ownby Associates, Landscape Architecture and Planning, thriving. |ret||ret||tab|

Among the company's projects are areas at Drury, Southwest Missouri State University and Oklahoma State University, Welk Theatre and Resort, the Park Central Square renovation, Nixa Stroll Garden and a number of residences. They've also consulted on Big Cedar Lodge and Dogwood Canyon.|ret||ret||tab|

There is a difference between doing landscaping and doing landscape design or architecture, Ownby pointed out. His firm doesn't do installation of the landscaping; is does design and consulting only. |ret||ret||tab|

"We design irrigation, outdoor lighting, terraces, water features, swimming pools, grading, arbors, retaining walls, paving areas practically anything out of doors," Ownby said, adding that he enjoys the variety. |ret||ret||tab|

Landscape design has a lot to do with environmental impact. While creating the plan, erosion control, the need for chemicals or fertilizers, and the use of shade and windbreaks are all considerations, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Trends, such as the current use of Feng Shui, don't sway Ownby. |ret||ret||tab|

"I try not to follow fads. I think they are just that, and in five or 10 years you'll say, Hey that was a 1990s job, wasn't it?' I'd like to think that we don't have solutions that fit categories of fashion or styles. We customize for each project; no two sites are the same, whether it be due to soil types, wind exposure or if it faces east or north."|ret||ret||tab|

Ownby, who has been practicing landscape architecture for 35 years, is proud of his residential, public and commercial projects with good reason. Among the awards and honors his firm has garnered are the Governor's Landscape Design Award, for the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in 1992 and for the Charley Pride Theater in 1995. The award is a landscape design award given for re-establishing landscape in urban areas. |ret||ret||tab|

"So many commercial projects clear cut and burn. All you have is a building. When you walk through the Moon River Theatre landscaping now, it is like walking in a park," Ownby said.|ret||ret||tab|

Among Ownby's current projects is the Wonders of Wildlife Museum, where Ownby Associates intends to create a landscape with a wild, Ozarks feel, complete with boulder outcrops. Water features are planned to resemble the streams and falls someone might see while hiking in the Ozarks. |ret||ret||tab|

Plants will be native ones, or ones that resemble them. Wildflowers and grasses will take the place of a traditional mowed lawn. Education is an element in the planning; Ownby Associates hopes to place labels on landscaping so the outside of the museum will be instructive for visitors.|ret||ret||tab|

Education is a major factor in the McBride Elementary School-Park Project. There, Ownby Associates worked with the school and community to design facilities. At the cooperative city/county park and school project at Golden and Weaver, the school and community share a park. |ret||ret||tab|

"The school will use the park as part of their programming; there is a recreational amphitheater in the park, and the plan is to have outdoor study classes there such as in ecology and botany," Ownby said.|ret||ret||tab|

According to Ownby, the demand for landscape design is high. The challenge is as it always has been making the client happy. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's a challenge to keep maintenance low while making an attractive project. Everyone says I don't want to have to do much maintenance work.' It's a fine line to walk, selecting materials and plants that take less work and yet are well-adapted, with no insects or diseases and the right size for their location," Ownby said.|ret||ret||tab|

In the future, Ownby sees landscape design "maturing and being accepted as a part of the process of developing outdoor spaces. Landscape architecture will have a valid part in the process, as in community and city planning, so everything has a purpose and relationship." |ret||ret||tab|

Ownby said he would like to see the landscape architect "coming in as part of the team at the start, not as a cosmetic afterthought."|ret||ret||tab|

Along with the bright future for landscape architecture, groundwork is being laid for a bright future for Ownby Associates. Steve Ownby's son, Cory, who received his degree in landscape architecture in 1998, has become an associate of the firm. |ret||ret||tab|

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