Why I do this
Native plants are where most people start, and they matter: they've co-evolved with local wildlife, so they offer the food, shelter, and structure that birds, pollinators, and caterpillars actually need.
But plants don't work alone. Healthy soil, access to water, layers of vegetation, places to rest and hide — these are the conditions a yard is actually built on, and they're the ones most often overlooked.
That's the part I find most interesting, and it's why my advice is rarely just a list of plants. A yard is a system you already live in. My job is to help you read it.
Meet Kaitlin Hammersley
The guide behind Wilder
Born and raised in Sarasota, I followed my family roots back to coastal Maine for college, where I double majored in Environmental Studies and Visual Art, splitting my time between exploring and creating. After dabbling in outdoor apparel product development and international education work post-college, I accepted an invitation to serve as an Agroforestry Extension Agent with the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, where I served from 2013-2015. I loved fueling my clients’ passion for trees and teaching about the importance of thoughtful site design and species selection, and it was doing this work that I realized landscape design was the path where I could combine my passions — art and environment.
While attending Foothill College’s Environmental Horticulture and Design AS program in California, I landed a dream internship with award-winning Landscape Architect John Black at Silicon Valley-based Verdance Landscape Architecture. I had the privilege of working with John for nearly a decade, and learned most of what I know about applied landscape design, excellent client service, and streamlined operations under his generous mentorship.
A St. Pete homeowner in the Crescent Lake neighborhood since 2016, I’m excited to be your trusted landscape expert, in the community I call home.
When I’m not at work, you can find me creating habitat in my yard, adventuring in Florida’s wilds with my husband and two young kids, or escaping to the woods and waters of Maine in the summer.
