City Beautiful Awards Highlight Local Resiliency

Featured image: Florida Native Landscape and Design won the Home of the Year Award for a project on an historic home in the Historic Old Northeast.

City leaders, community members, and local visionaries joined the City Beautiful Commission for their 58th annual City Beautification Awards ceremony on October 23. Held at Sunken Gardens, the ceremony honored the projects that make St. Petersburg shine, including unique and remarkable work to improve our community and make our city greener. 

Projects included an initiative to develop a community pollinator corridor; an urban farming initiative that transforms empty lots into garden spaces; a volunteer community garden that focuses on sustainable regenerative farming practices to produce free fruits and vegetables for the community; as well as a local business’s preservation of the beautiful and established large oak trees on its property. 

Other projects offered solutions to problems, such as stormwater run-off and erosion, beautification of bare residential landscapes, as well as neighborhood and local park clean up and restoration after two hurricanes. Additional projects included a Florida-friendly edible landscape, which incorporates noninvasive and heritage edible plants that benefit both people and wildlife; a tranquil retreat within a condominium courtyard using vibrant Florida native plants; and a public Florida natives edible garden that produces and conserves resources as well as reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides. 

Mayor Ken Welch opening remarks set the tone for the evening. “St. Pete has always been a city of possibility, but it is the people, like those we will recognize tonight, that turn those possibilities into progress,” he said. “Your efforts reflect the heart and soul of our city. You remind us that our city’s beauty is about care and stewardship and the belief that every corner of our city deserves to shine.” Welch then spoke directly to the nominees: “I want to personally thank you for all that you have done to uplift our city as a whole and especially in light of the challenges we have all faced over the last year. You have inspired neighbors to get involved, visitors to take notice, and future generations to dream even bigger.”

According to the City of St. Petersburg, the City Beautiful Commission’s mission is “to enhance and safeguard the beauty of our natural resources and city landscapes, thereby enriching the quality of life for our community.” To fulfill that mission, the volunteer body, meets to advise on beautification policies, assist with citywide landscape initiatives, and partner with community organizations that share a passion for civic improvement. It has played a hands-on role in some of St. Pete’s most visible beautification efforts and community programs including the Gift Tree Program, The Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum, and of course the annual City Beautiful Awards.

Cheri Riley, Chair of the City Beautiful Commission, offered personal reflections on the ceremony, the honorees, and their projects: “The awards grew out of a simple idea – to inspire pride in place. When the City Beautiful Commission began back in the early 1960s, it reflected a national movement to restore civic beauty and community spirit. I love that St. Petersburg has kept that tradition alive, celebrating those who care for the look, feel, and character of our city.” And the honorees certainly showed a care for our city, not only through beautification, but also through environmental stewardship and well-being. Riley said, “True beautification includes how we nurture our natural systems and support well-being in our neighborhoods. Recognizing projects that connect the people to green space, shade, and cleaner air reminds us that a healthy environment is what makes a beautiful city.”

Many, if not all, of the initiatives awarded worked heavily with Florida native and Florida-friendly plants that are pollinator-friendly, reflecting broader goals for sustainability and community connection. I had the pleasure of speaking with one such award winner about her project. Lesli Larmon, owner of Florida Native Landscape and Design, won the Home of the Year Award for her project on an historic home on Bay Street in the Historic Old Northeast neighborhood. 

Larmon said she started with a blank canvas of a bare sandy yard and worked with her clients to turn it into a vibrant Florida paradise. She kept the yard environmentally friendly, and said, “I used Florida-native and Florida-friendly plants that worked with the environment as well as fit in with the neighborhood. Doing this means that the plants will work well in the yard and will not require a ton of maintenance. Everything was designed to work with the natural areas of shade or sun that were provided naturally, and we used that to our advantage.” 

Larmon, has an extensive background in horticulture and started working on landscapes in St. Pete in 1986. She says winning this award is a great honor because she has done so many jobs in our city that all mean so much to her. Her favorite part of the work, she said, is “coming up with a design that is going to be feasible for the client and the property for years to come, implementing that design, and watching it grow.” 

I asked if she had any advice for someone starting on their own landscape journey. “Do your research and try and hire a good designer before you go out and spend a lot of money,” she replied. “You want to make sure you know the right plant for the right place with the right conditions, as well as the best colors and textures that work with your landscape. Each environment is different, and you have to know what is best for your environment.”

In addition to uprooting lives and livelihoods, last year’s hurricanes devastated the city’s natural environments. But City Beautification Awards remind us that there is so much beauty that continues to grow and develop throughout St. Pete. The awards honored those who exemplify the resiliency of our community, our natural environment, and the wildlife within our city. 

Cheri Riley said the event embodies the spirit of the city because “it is joyful, inclusive, and creative – everything that makes St. Pete special. You could feel the connection in the room. People truly care about this city and each other. I hope attendees walk away inspired to look at their own surroundings a little differently to notice what is working, to nurture it, and to spread that pride and positivity through their neighborhoods.”

The 2025 City Beautification Award Winners

Elva Rouse Award: Chad Hardy

Garden Club Award: Sara Toftegaard

Community Stewardship Award: Daystar Life Center

Home of the Year Award: Lesli Larmon, Florida Native Landscape and Design

Pollinator Award: Elise Pickett, The Urban Harvest

Urban Forestry Award: St. Pete Cellars

Transformation in Progress Award: League of Women Voters work at the Sanderlin Rain Garden

General Beautification Award: Greens ‘n’ Things Urban Farm

Peggy Allen Award: Neighborhood Home Solutions

Environmental Award: Riviera Bay Civic Association