Serving St. Petersburg, Florida
Native landscaping built for St. Pete.
Sandy soil, salt air, hurricane season. St. Pete yards have a different set of rules. We design gardens built for this specific piece of Florida, plants that belong here, roots that hold, beauty that lasts.
St. Pete Gardens
A garden built for St. Pete, not shipped in from somewhere else.
St. Petersburg isn't like the rest of Florida. You've got sandy soil that drains fast, salt spray coming off Tampa Bay, and hurricanes that test everything in the yard every single year.
Most landscapers plant the same palette from Lakeland to Sarasota. We don't. Every garden we design here starts with a site visit, what your soil is actually like, how much salt air you get, where your water pools after a storm.
The result: a garden that doesn't need babying. Native plants that thrive in sand. Trees with roots deep enough to stay standing through hurricane winds. Rain gardens that handle summer flooding instead of fighting it.
How we help →Where we work
St. Pete neighborhoods we serve
Based at 2621 4th Ave S in the Grand Central District. We work across every St. Petersburg neighborhood, each one has its own soil and microclimate, and we design for what's actually in front of us.
Recent projects
Our work in St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area
How we help St. Pete properties
Whether it's a full redesign or simply getting the right plants in the ground, we design around what St. Pete gives you.
Florida native landscape design
A full garden built around plants that belong in St. Pete. Designed around your exact sun, drainage, and microclimate.
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Hardscape design
Patios, pathways, dry river beds, retaining walls. Stonework that handles St. Pete's conditions without falling apart.
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Irrigation & lighting
Florida's dry season runs October through May. We design irrigation that puts water exactly where St. Pete plants need it, so nothing dies waiting for June.
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Permaculture design
A St. Pete garden that feeds you back. Edible gardens and food forests designed to produce year-round while rebuilding the soil underneath them.
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Specimen tree sourcing and planting
Mature native trees placed for immediate impact. Gumbo limbo, live oak, cabbage palm, sourced from Florida growers who know what survives here.
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Garden maintenance & monitoring
Your St. Pete landscape changes with every season. We stay with it, pruning, adjusting, watching for problems before they spread.
Get in touch →What Tampa Bay homeowners say
★★★★★ Google ReviewsKaimesha and team are top notch. 5+ stars! Every step of the process was professional and friendly. The design is presented in a comprehensive book with diagrams and a care guide.
Kim Benson
Native landscape design
I hired Kiamesha and Living Spaces to revamp my front yard, and I couldn't be happier! They integrated native plants that are low-maintenance and stunning.
Scott Grisack
Front yard redesign
Kiamesha, Justis, Osiris and Ether were a terrific team to put together a Florida native yard for me. The rain garden is my favorite part!
Joan Hartsough
Native yard + rain garden
Kia and her team did an amazing job at our new home in Dunedin. A native planting design that looks great and is easy to maintain.
Edward Oliu
Native planting, Dunedin
Our ho-hum suburban lawn has become a haven for butterflies, bees, and an occasional bunny. We are grateful for the expertise and ongoing support.
Wynn
Front yard landscape design
Living Spaces Gardening transformed my outdoor space into a vibrant garden complete with an efficient irrigation system, exceeding all expectations.
Mikey Vongdara
Garden + irrigation
Kiamesha, Justus and the Team did a fantastic job transforming our backyard mess into a tropical paradise filled with native Florida plants.
Steve Jarae
Backyard transformation
We had our entire yard transformed by Living Spaces Gardening and are very happy with the results.
Rob Neumann
Full yard transformation
I love that they only work with Florida natives and took the time to educate me on how all the plants work together.
Xan
Native garden design
Kiamesha, Justice, and their team designed and installed a wonderful dry river bed in my front yard with all Florida native plants.
Steve Teichgraeber
Dry river bed + native plants
Kaimesha and team are top notch. 5+ stars! Every step of the process was professional and friendly. The design is presented in a comprehensive book with diagrams and a care guide.
Kim Benson
Native landscape design
I hired Kiamesha and Living Spaces to revamp my front yard, and I couldn't be happier! They integrated native plants that are low-maintenance and stunning.
Scott Grisack
Front yard redesign
Kiamesha, Justis, Osiris and Ether were a terrific team to put together a Florida native yard for me. The rain garden is my favorite part!
Joan Hartsough
Native yard + rain garden
Kia and her team did an amazing job at our new home in Dunedin. A native planting design that looks great and is easy to maintain.
Edward Oliu
Native planting, Dunedin
Our ho-hum suburban lawn has become a haven for butterflies, bees, and an occasional bunny. We are grateful for the expertise and ongoing support.
Wynn
Front yard landscape design
Living Spaces Gardening transformed my outdoor space into a vibrant garden complete with an efficient irrigation system, exceeding all expectations.
Mikey Vongdara
Garden + irrigation
Kiamesha, Justus and the Team did a fantastic job transforming our backyard mess into a tropical paradise filled with native Florida plants.
Steve Jarae
Backyard transformation
We had our entire yard transformed by Living Spaces Gardening and are very happy with the results.
Rob Neumann
Full yard transformation
I love that they only work with Florida natives and took the time to educate me on how all the plants work together.
Xan
Native garden design
Kiamesha, Justice, and their team designed and installed a wonderful dry river bed in my front yard with all Florida native plants.
Steve Teichgraeber
Dry river bed + native plants
Good questions
St. Pete questions
about native landscaping
St. Petersburg sits on a barrier peninsula with sandy soil, salt air, and full sun most of the year. The natives that thrive here are built for those conditions: sea oats, muhly grass, coontie, firebush, gumbo limbo, seagrape, beach sunflower, and saw palmetto. These handle salt spray, poor drainage, and long stretches without rain.
Yes. Most Florida natives actually prefer sandy soil. They evolved in it. The real problem in St. Pete yards is builder fill, compacted subsoil, and old irrigation setups that drown them. We assess your specific soil before any plant goes in the ground.
Flooding in St. Petersburg usually means poor grading and plants that can't absorb stormwater. A rain garden with deep-rooted natives like swamp milkweed, cordgrass, and red maple can absorb thousands of gallons per storm. We've built several in Old Northeast and Historic Kenwood that handle summer rain without ever pooling.
Yes. St. Pete is in a direct hurricane path. Deep-rooted native trees like live oak, gumbo limbo, and cabbage palm anchor soil and resist wind better than imported species. Shallow-rooted trees like Bradford pears, certain ornamental palms, and laurel oaks are the ones that come down in storms.
Yes. We serve every St. Petersburg neighborhood, including Old Northeast, Historic Kenwood, Crescent Lake, Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Tropical Shores, Bartlett Park, and the Grand Central District. Our office is at 2621 4th Ave S.
Meet the family
The Wray-Weisensel Family
Kiamesha Wray and Justus Weisensel are the couple behind Living Spaces Gardening and Living Restorations. Family owned, family operated. Based in St. Petersburg since day one.
Kiamesha is a certified Florida Master Naturalist. She grew up on dig sites with her archaeologist mother and spent weekends camping along Florida's rivers and springs with her father. Justus is a premier woodworker and builder. He's the one grading your soil, placing the boulders, building the things that have to last.
Their kids fuel everything they do. Every native garden they restore is a piece of the Florida the next generation will inherit. Their crew has been with them for years. When they take on your project, these are the people who show up.
As featured in Homes & Gardens, November 2025.
- Experienced Florida Master Naturalist
- FANN credentialed native plant professional
- Featured in Homes & Gardens, Nov 2025
- Based at 2621 4th Ave S, St. Petersburg
- Serving Tampa Bay since 2018
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Let's talk about your property.
Pick a topic below. Kiamesha responds personally. Consultations start at $125 and that goes toward your design.