Helpful Guides for Florida Gardening & Landscaping

Simple, practical guides to help you choose plants that thrive here and make your landscape easier to care for. Created by our team based on decades of growing experience in Tampa Bay.

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‘Guided’ Fun!

Whether you’re starting a new landscape or improving what you have, these guides are designed to make the process easier. Each resource focuses on what works in our climate, helping you choose plants that thrive and reduce the guesswork along the way.

Explore Our Gardening & Landscape Guides

Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
To attract birds to your yard, think about creating a habitat with food, shelter, and water..
Designing a hedge Using Florida Native Plants
Designing a Hedge Using Florida Native Plants
When planning your hedge there are several things to thing about before you start buying.
Create a Pollinator Pot
Create a Pollinator Pot
The insects that pollinate our food crops and natural areas are in steep decline.
Keystone Plant List Ecoregion
Keystone Plant List Ecoregion
Native plants have tight relationships with wildlife, formed over many thousands of years, providing natural sources..
Wilcox Planting and Watering Guide
Wilcox Planting and Watering Guide
The planting site should provide the proper light, moisture, and drainage for your plant.
PROPER Sabal Palm Pruning
PROPER Sabal Palm Pruning
Harsh pruning takes away food and shelter from native migratory songbirds, woodpeckers, butterflies..
Keystone Plant List Ecoregion
Native Grasses and Groundcovers
Level up your lawn with native grasses and groundcovers! Traditional turf lawns require excessive water use, fertilizers..
Wildflowers for Shade
Wildflowers for Dry Landscapes
In nature, Florida’s wildflowers are found in all light conditions. Many beautiful species can adapt to varying light..
Gardening for Birds by Season
Gardening for Birds by Season
The lifecycle of birds is very closely linked to insects, especially caterpillars.
Bioswale Handout
Reduce Water Pollution with Bioswales and Rain Gardens
Bioswales and Rain Gardens are an alternative to turf stormwater drainage ditches using native vegetation.
Guide for Choosing Native Plants
Guide for Choosing Native Plants
This guide features over 125 wildflowers, shrubs, vines and grasses that are native to Florida..
Monarchs and Milkweeds
Monarchs and Milkweeds
Monarchs have evolved over thousands of years with the native milkweed plants upon which they depend.
Simple Installation Agreement
Simple Installation Agreement
The labor fees listed below are estimates for simple plantings in a single visit..
Native Plants for bees
Florida Native Plants for Bees
This is a list of plants carried at Wilcox Nursery that are especially attractive to bees.
Aquatic Wildflowers for Pollinators
Aquatic Wildflowers for Pollinators
Florida is a great place to garden near or in water with native wildflowers and plants.
Wildflower for Dry Landscapes
Wildflower for Dry Landscapes
Many Florida landscapes have sandy soils that are naturally dry and well-drained, even after heavy rain.
Milkweed Statement and FAQ's
Milkweed Statement and FAQ's
As a native nursery that is working to support our natural ecosystems, we recommend planting only native..
Keystone Trees
Keystone Trees
A keystone plant species is a plant that supports the life cycle of many species.
Salt Tolerant Native Plants
Salt Tolerant Native Plants
Living on the coast of Florida offers numerous advantages, from breathtaking ocean views to a mild climate.
Milkweed Statement and FAQ's
The Big Yard Checklist
The Big Year is a challenge to identify as many bird species as possible in a specific location in a single year.
Grasses and Groundcovers
Butterfly Host Plants for Tampa Bay
Grasses and Groundcovers…
Grass Removal Methods
Grass Removal Methods
This method avoids using herbicides. It is very effective to remove all vegetation for large areas.
Wilcox Planting and Watering Guide
Wilcox Planting and Watering Guide
The planting site should provide the proper light, moisture, and drainage for your plant.
PROPER Sabal Palm Pruning
PROPER Sabal Palm Pruning
Harsh pruning takes away food and shelter from native migratory songbirds, woodpeckers, butterflies..
Keystone Plant List Ecoregion
Native Grasses and Groundcovers
Level up your lawn with native grasses and groundcovers! Traditional turf lawns require excessive water use, fertilizers..
Wildflowers for Shade
Wildflowers for Dry Landscapes
In nature, Florida’s wildflowers are found in all light conditions. Many beautiful species can adapt to varying light..
Salt Tolerant Native Plants
Salt Tolerant Native Plants
Living on the coast of Florida offers numerous advantages, from breathtaking ocean views to a mild climate.
Grass Removal Methods
Grass Removal Methods
This method avoids using herbicides. It is very effective to remove all vegetation for large areas.
Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
To attract birds to your yard, think about creating a habitat with food, shelter, and water..
Create a Pollinator Pot
Create a Pollinator Pot
The insects that pollinate our food crops and natural areas are in steep decline.
Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
Gardening for Birds using Florida Native Plants
To attract birds to your yard, think about creating a habitat with food, shelter, and water..
Create a Pollinator Pot
Create a Pollinator Pot
The insects that pollinate our food crops and natural areas are in steep decline.

What Makes Our Resources Different

These guides are based on what we see working every day in Florida landscapes. With decades of experience in the Tampa Bay area, our team focuses on plants and approaches that are easier to care for, more resilient, and better suited to the way people actually live outdoors here.

Need Help Applying This To Your Yard?

Our team can help you turn these ideas into a landscape that works for your space, your conditions, and the way you live outdoors.