Pennate Guides
Pennate Guides are Florida-specific reference resources built to explain how landscapes actually behave over time — not how they’re marketed.
Rather than generic advice, each guide focuses on a single system, condition, or decision point and explains how it performs in real Florida environments, using field experience, plant science, and practical constraints.
If you’re planning, correcting, or trying to understand a landscape in Florida, this is where to start.
Start Here
The Complete Guide to Landscape Design in Florida
Primary Authority Guide
A comprehensive, system-level overview of how Florida landscapes work — from soils and drainage to plant behavior, seasonal timing, and long-term maintenance.
This guide connects all other Pennate guides into a single framework and is the recommended starting point for:
- Homeowners planning a new landscape or major refresh
- Property managers and HOAs evaluating long-term decisions
- Anyone trying to understand why Florida landscapes succeed or fail
→ Start with the Complete Guide to Landscape Design in Florida
Core Landscape Systems
Foundational guides that explain the underlying conditions every Florida landscape depends on.
- Designing with Intention: How Florida Landscapes Should Actually Work
- Florida Microclimates and Site Context
- Florida Soils Are Not Dirt: Sand, Fill, and Compaction
- Drainage, Grade, and Surface Water Flow in Florida Landscapes
- Plant Light Conditions in Florida
- Wind, Salt, and Coastal Exposure
- Watering Strategy: Establishment vs. Long-Term
- Nutrient Availability & Micronutrients (Iron, Magnesium)
- Pest Pressure and Stress Indicators
These guides are referenced throughout Pennate’s design, planting, and maintenance content.
Plant-Specific Guides & Landscape Concepts
Plant-focused and concept-specific guides that explain how commonly used Florida landscape plants and planting strategies actually perform over time. These guides cover selection, placement, growth behavior, maintenance realities, and common failure points.
Structural & Installation Doctrine
Pennate also maintains a growing Plant Library with detailed, Florida-tested guidance on commonly misunderstood and high-risk plants.
Seasonal & Situational Guides
Applied explanations that build on the core systems and address common Florida-specific questions as they arise throughout the year.
- Dormant Doesn’t Mean Dead: Understanding Winter Landscapes
- Why Florida Sprinkler Systems Quietly Fail in Winter
- Why Your Yard Looks Worse in Winter (And Why That’s Normal)
- Is It Too Early to Plant Anything in Florida?
- When Should You Start Thinking About Spring Planting?
- Why Spring Landscaping Fails Before It Starts
- Cold Events and Zone Survival
- How Professionals Think About Seasonal Transitions
Featured Guide Series
Structured topic clusters that explore a single landscape system from multiple angles.
- Butterfly Gardens in Central Florida
A structured guide series covering species persistence, lifecycle timing, host vs. nectar strategy, layout structure, and seasonal performance.
(Additional series are published as completed.)
Maintenance & Long-Term Stewardship
Guides focused on how landscapes evolve after installation — and how to manage them without overcorrecting.
- Professional Seasonal Maintenance Cycles in Florida Landscapes
- Maintenance Reality: What “Low Maintenance” Actually Means
- Mulch Maintenance & Refresh Cycles (Florida Landscapes)
- Mulch, Pruning, or Irrigation — What Actually Moves the Needle?
- Winter Pruning Mistakes That Set Landscapes Back Months
- From Blank Yard to Mature Landscape: A Florida Design Roadmap
- How to Set a Landscape Budget That Actually Works
Additional maintenance and stewardship guides are published as they’re completed.
Guide Contributions
Pennate occasionally accepts guide contributions from landscape professionals, horticulturists, and subject-matter experts with relevant field experience.
All submissions are reviewed for technical accuracy, clarity, and Florida-specific relevance. Not all submissions will be published.
If you have a guide idea aligned with Pennate’s approach, contact:
guides@pennate-group.com.