Designing Landscapes That Stand Up to Hurricane Season

Resilience · 2026-05-30 · 7 min read

Storm resilience is one of the first things we design for, and one of the least visible in the finished landscape. Done right, it looks like nothing at all, until the day it matters.

Choose trees that bend, not break

Not all trees fail equally in a hurricane. Studies after major storms consistently show natives like live oak, gumbo limbo, and cabbage palm surviving winds that topple shallow rooted imports. Species selection is the single biggest resilience decision on any site.

Prune and structure the canopy

A well structured canopy lets wind pass through rather than catching it like a sail. We design and specify canopy trees with clean branch structure and space between masses, so the landscape moves with a storm instead of fighting it.

Grade and drain for the deluge

Wind gets the headlines, but water does much of the damage. We grade sites so that storm water and surge move away from the residence, and we design drainage, swales, dry wells, permeable surfaces, sized for the intense, sudden rains this region actually gets.

Root room and establishment

A tree is only as stable as its roots, and roots need room. Compacted, undersized planting pits are a leading cause of storm failure. We design generous soil volumes and stake young trees correctly so they anchor deeply as they establish.

Resilience is a discipline that runs through the whole project. It is built into our waterfront and estate design work, where exposure is greatest.