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.
