Center Lake Ranch

Discover a tranquil sanctuary within Center Lake Ranch, a contemporary community situated on 1,000 acres of preserved uplands and lowlands in St. Cloud near Lake Nona. This community is dedicated to conserving nearly half of the land, complemented by parks, ponds, and walking trails. We undertook the landscape and irrigation installation for the nearly mile-long boulevard entrance of this master-planned community.

Center Lake Ranch is dynamic in its vast array of native trees including Florida Flame Red Maples, Slash Pines, Live Oaks, Sycamores and Bald Cypress trees. There are a variety of native shrubs including Green Saw Palmettos, Coral Honey Suckle, Coontie Palms, Dwarf Fakahatchee, Sand Cordgrass, Muhly Grass and Blanket Flower.

At the time of installation, this project represented our largest perennial peanut planting on a single project. To meet the required scope, we contract grew the groundcover at our farm in Groveland. This experience motivated our Cherrylake nursery group to continue growing Perennial Peanut for the open market, marketing our company's commitment to ensuring a reliable supply for large scale sustainable landscaping plant material. The project also revealed other opportunities for our team to enhance our processes and improve the chain of custody around sustainable landscapes.

Perennial Peanut was chosen because the landscape architect, Dix.Hite, wanted to experiment with a water-efficient native groundcover. Additionally, the planned installation of a native pollinator garden allowed Center Lake Ranch to become certified as a National Wildlife Federation Community Wildlife Habitat - a certification that celebrates communities where animals and humans coexist harmoniously.

Client: Taylor Morrison
Landscape Architect: Dix.Hite + Partners
Completion Date: September 2024
Type of Project: Residential
Scope: Irrigation & Landscape Installation