Wise Hands Portfolio

Native Landscaping Projects

Explore real Wise Hands projects featuring Florida native landscaping, habitat restoration, pollinator gardens, coastal plantings, invasive plant removal, and ecological landscape transformations.

Click any project image below to see the full portfolio story, project details, plantings, location, and transformation.

Historic Kenwood’s Welcoming Native Garden

  • CLIENT Historic Kenwood Bungalow
  • YEAR 2024 - Present
  • WE DID Design, Install, Management
  • DESCRIPTIONWorking closely with the homeowners, we transformed this charming Kenwood front yard from an outdated tropical landscape into a beautiful Florida native xeriscape. One of the highlights of the project was the addition of a mature B&B sand live oak, which the homeowners selected as a long-term investment in the property's beauty and ecological value.
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Designed for Butterflies, Built for Family — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Phased native garden designed for play, learning, and wildlife
  • YEAR 2022-2026
  • DESCRIPTIONThis family wanted their children to experience nature right at home. Designed and installed in phases, the front yard brings together a children’s sensory garden, edible plants, and a diverse mix of native and butterfly host plants.

    Because the family actively raises butterflies and enjoys observing the metamorphosis process, we incorporated host plants such as Bahama cassia and milkweed throughout the garden.

    The project began with the children’s sensory garden, followed by planting along the perimeter with native species like firebush and tropical sage to establish structure and habitat. In the final phase, we filled in the central area with layered plantings of native wildflowers and grasses, creating a vibrant, cohesive space that supports wildlife and invites daily exploration.

    Wise Hands provided the design, installation, and ongoing maintenance of the landscape.
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Cove on the Gulf Condos — Tierra Verde, FL

  • CLIENT Tierra Verde | Cove on the Gulf Condo
  • YEAR 2025
  • DESCRIPTIONCove on the Gulf engaged Wise Hands to design and install native landscaping throughout their entrance, pool area, and surrounding beds. Their previous landscape, made up primarily of traditional exotic plants, was largely lost during the hurricanes of 2024, prompting a shift toward a more resilient approach.
    The new native landscape is designed for coastal conditions—featuring predominantly salt-tolerant plants that support pollinators while requiring less water and fertilizer over time.
    Explore the transformation in the photos, from the finished landscape back to the original conditions, to see how far this space has come.
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Wise Hands’ Design Process

  • DESIGN PROCESSWe pride ourselves on having only in-house designers. Your design will be custom crafted to your environmental conditions, preferences, and goals.
    Your design process starts with a Design Consultation. This gives us the opportunity to walk the property with you, identify your site conditions, hear your goals, and get a sense of what we could create for you.
    The Design Consultation is $150, which will be credited back to you on your final installation invoice. Following the Design Consultation, your designer will provide a description of the vision for the project and scope for your feedback. They will also quote the design work and discuss overall budget with you. Your design will include: an in-person review of the design at our nursery with one round of revisions, a digital copy of the design and a printed version if requested, and an estimate for the installation of the landscape.
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Westminster Suncoast Entrance — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Westminster Suncoast
  • YEAR 2023
  • DESCRIPTIONIn this project, we had the opportunity to completely reimagine the entrance to the Westminster Suncoast community. With a long-standing commitment to Florida native plants, the goal was to create a welcoming entry that reflected the community’s passion for sustainable, regionally appropriate landscaping.
    The project involved extensive removal of existing plant material, site grading, thoughtful planning, and full installation. The result was a cohesive, vibrant landscape designed to highlight the beauty and resilience of native species.
    Below are photos of the completed installation, along with “before” images following the initial clearing phase.
    Please note: this installation is no longer in place due to changes in leadership at the facility.

Native Garden Stewardship at the Chihuly Collection — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Chihuly Collection
  • YEAR February 2022 to Present
  • PARTNERS Bruce Turley, Designer
  • DESCRIPTIONOur mentor and local native plant legend, Bruce Turley, designed this remarkable garden at the Chihuly Collection, nestled within the museum’s courtyard. Open to visitors and often explored by children in summer programs, the space is rich with rare palms, layered wildflowers, and beloved natives like cocoplum and rosinflower, alongside uncommon ferns and vines.
    Since February 2022, Wise Hands has been entrusted with its care. It’s one of our favorite places to work—where we can introduce new plants in the containers and maintain a landscape that lives up to its museum setting.
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The Salvador — Downtown St. Pete

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | The Salvador
  • YEAR 2023 to Present
  • DESCRIPTIONThe board of The Salvador Building in downtown St. Petersburg, FL sought to replace their dated landscape with a more sustainable, well-suited planting.

    The existing bamboo had outgrown the space, creating maintenance challenges and excessive leaf litter. Wise Hands used specialized equipment to remove the large clumps and reestablish the area with a thoughtfully selected palette of native plants.

    Wise Hands now maintains the new landscape, with additional enhancements planned as the space continues to evolve.

Dunedin Front Yard Turf Replacement

  • CLIENT Dunedin, FL | Front Yard Turf Replacement
  • YEAR 2022-2024
  • DESCRIPTIONWe’re always excited to receive inquiries like this: “We’re looking to replace our front lawn with native plants that are easy to grow and low maintenance.”
    For this project, Wise Hands removed the existing turf and transformed the front yard into a Florida native landscape, featuring layered plantings and pea gravel pathways. The result is a space that is more resilient, lower maintenance, and better aligned with the local environment.

    Maintenance concluded following the 2024 hurricanes, when the property was sold after significant flooding.

Native Plants Go Modern — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Modern New Construction
  • YEAR 2022
  • DESCRIPTIONThis homeowner wanted to elevate their new construction modern home with a landscape that felt both contemporary and connected to Florida’s ecology. The design features a red maple as a focal point, complemented by drought-tolerant groundcovers and shell accents that reinforce the clean, modern aesthetic.

Bahama Shores Native Landscape Maintenance

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Bahama Shores Native Landscape
  • YEAR 2022-2024
  • WE DID Maintenance
  • PARTNERS Bruce Turley, Designer and Detail Divas
  • DESCRIPTIONOriginally designed by Bruce Turley, this abundant native landscape in Bahama Shores, St. Petersburg, FL was thoughtfully maintained by Detail Divas for over a decade. When that company closed, Wise Hands was recommended to continue caring for this special place, which we maintained for a period of time before transitioning out.

Pocket Pollinator Garden — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Pocket Pollinator Garden
  • YEAR 2022
  • DESCRIPTIONThis homeowner enjoyed watching birds and pollinators but wanted to create a landscape that would actively support them. After discovering the benefits of native plants, she partnered with Wise Hands to design and install a pollinator garden just outside her screened lanai.

    After our design and install, the space is filled with movement and life—a compact garden that offers beauty, habitat, and a front-row seat to nature.

A Low Maintenance Xeriscape — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Tropical Shores Xeriscape
  • YEAR 2022-2025
  • PARTNERS Bruce Turley, Designer
  • DESCRIPTIONThis Tropical Shores, St Pete client wished for a low maintenance, low water needs xeriscaped front yard. Designer, Bruce Turley, created an interesting contoured mix of pea pebbles and shell to create visual interest and tough drought tolerant native plants.

    Wise Hands completed the installation with heavy duty landscape fabric to prevent weeds and sleek aluminum edging, which has a very long lifespan (but is also recyclable!)

    Peruse the transformation in the photos, from the finished landscape back to the original conditions, to see how far this space has come.

A Front Yard for Bird Watchers — Gulfport, FL

  • CLIENT Gulfport, FL | Pasadena Yacht Club Bird Watcher
  • YEAR 2021
  • DESCRIPTIONThis homeowner had traveled the world to see and photograph rare birds—and wanted to bring that experience home. Located in an upscale gated community in Gulfport, FL, the design needed to satisfy HOA standards while providing the native plants birds depend on.

    The original design and installation were completed in January 2021, creating a landscape that supports bird habitat without compromising the neighborhood aesthetic. In October 2022, Wise Hands returned to remove the remaining turf along the sides of the yard, replacing it with drought-tolerant native groundcover to further enhance the space.

    Explore the transformation in the photos, from the finished landscape back to the original conditions, to see how far this space has come.

USF St. Pete Native Memorial Garden — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | USF St. Pete
  • YEAR 2020-2024
  • WE DID Clean-up, Enhancement
  • DESCRIPTIONThe USF St. Petersburg Memorial Garden—also known as the Butterfly Garden—is a native planting located near the Student Center at the corner of 2nd St N and 6th Ave S. Set beneath a large live oak, the garden highlights shade-loving native understory plants.

    When we were introduced to the space in December 2020, it was overgrown, neglected, and largely forgotten. With the help of our mentor, Bruce Turley—a longtime native plants advocate and sustainability leader in Pinellas County—the garden was re-envisioned and restored. Wise Hands joined the effort with a multi-day clean-up to bring the space back into good condition.

    From 2020 to 2024, Wise Hands maintained and continued to enhance the garden, adding native plantings and botanical labeling to support its role as an educational space. Additional features, including bat and owl boxes and interpretive signage, were installed through collaboration with USF St. Pete sustainability and student leadership groups, helping transform the garden into a welcoming place for visitors and learning.

Naturalistic Pollinator Garden — St. Petersburg, FL

  • CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | Where Kids Grow Up With Nature
  • YEAR 2020
  • DESCRIPTIONThis young family wanted a true butterfly garden—a space where their children could spend time outdoors observing and enjoying nature. The site, a mostly shaded 30-by-15-foot area, required a thoughtful approach to create a part-sun garden that would thrive in Florida conditions.

    The design centers around a circular path leading to a bench, creating a quiet place to sit and watch birds feed and butterflies gather nectar. The planting palette leans naturalistic, featuring wildflowers such as cutleaf coneflower, Stokes’ aster, wild petunia, tropical salvia, and ironweed.

    To add structure and habitat, we incorporated a swath of river oats for a meadow-like feel and created a bird-friendly hedge along the back of the garden using marlberry, myrsine, and snowberry. A functional groundcover layer of creeping sage and hammock twinflower was added to knit the space together, covering soil as mulch breaks down while contributing additional seasonal blooms.
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Front Yard Butterfly Garden — Clearwater, FL

  • CLIENT Clearwater, FL | Front Yard Butterfly Habitat
  • YEAR 2019-2020
  • DESCRIPTIONThis front yard butterfly garden draws in more than just pollinators—passersby often stop to admire the flowers and watch the steady movement of butterflies through the space. Originally installed by Wilcox Nursery & Landscape, the garden has become a vibrant hub of activity.

    From 2019 to 2020, Wise Hands supported the health and evolution of this meadow through thoughtful maintenance. Our work included selective weeding, identifying and tending native seedlings, pruning only where needed to encourage flowering, and lightly mulching. By keeping mulch minimal, we allowed native plants to reseed naturally, helping the meadow thicken and become more dynamic over time.

    For the homeowner, the garden became part of a daily ritual—a place to step outside with a cup of coffee and enjoy the ever-changing cast of birds, butterflies, and other visitors.
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A Garden That Grew With Us: Meranova — Dunedin, FL

  • CLIENT Dunedin, FL | Meranova Bed & Breakfast
  • YEAR 2019-2025
  • PARTNERS Living Roots Eco Design
  • DescriptionAs Wise Hands’ first client, Meranova Bed and Breakfast holds a special place in our history. From 2019 to 2025, we maintained and guided the landscape as it developed into a rich mix of tropical and native plantings.

    With fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and fresh herbs used by the on-site chef, the landscape plays an active role in the guest experience. Over time, we introduced native plants to support pollinators and add ecological function, creating a garden that feels both lush and alive.
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Land Stewardship — Odessa, FL

  • CLIENT Odessa, FL | 26-Acre Land Stewardship
  • YEAR 2019-2026
  • Description This 26-acre former Girl Scout camp contains a diverse range of habitats characteristic of Florida’s native landscapes. The landowner engaged Wise Hands to help distinguish native from invasive species, document existing plant communities, and provide ongoing ecological management guidance.

    Over the course of our work, we have identified and cataloged more than 77 plant species—including trees, wildflowers, vines, grasses, and shrubs—creating a foundation for informed, site-specific decision-making. Our stewardship approach focuses on strategic invasive removal, targeted herbicide application for the most persistent species, and manual removal of woody invasives such as Brazilian pepper and carrotwood.

    In parallel, we provide seasonal management planning, helping guide when and how to intervene to support long-term ecological health. Larger-scale clearing efforts have been coordinated by the landowner, with our input shaping priorities and sequencing.

    This project reflects a long-term commitment to habitat restoration—reducing invasive pressure, increasing biodiversity, and supporting wildlife through the gradual reestablishment of native plant communities. We continue to work closely with the landowner to evolve the site over time, balancing intervention with natural regeneration.
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