Aerial view of a mature Bradenton backyard food forest with a lagoon and gathering areas

Food forest design & installation · Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch

Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch food forests

Our home food forest is in Bradenton. We build the same soil-first, family-ready edible landscapes for homes across Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and Anna Maria Island.

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Our home ground

We test every idea in Bradenton first

Bring Back Eden is based in Bradenton, and our own quarter-acre backyard is a working home demonstration. Since 2023 it has gone from open lawn and sand to a layered food forest with a water-harvesting lagoon, shade, gathering areas and more than 20 fruits and crops producing.

It has been planted, harvested, damaged by storms, rebuilt and changed again, including after Hurricane Milton in 2024. What works there shapes what we build for families across Manatee County.

See the Bradenton case study, year by year

Aerial view of the Bradenton home food forest wrapped around a lagoon — Our Bradenton home demonstration from above, 2026.

Soil first

Fixing Bradenton's sand

Most Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch yards sit on sandy soil that drains fast and holds almost nothing. In our own yard we fed it for years with compost, deep mulch, chop-and-drop biomass and dense planting, and the change from our 2022 sand to our 2026 soil is the clearest result we have.

That's why soil preparation sits near the start of every project we build, not the end. Living soil holds water through dry spells, feeds fruit trees and keeps soil life working for you.

Handful of dark, rich composted soil from the Bradenton food forest — Our Bradenton soil in 2026, after years of feeding it.

Lakewood Ranch & communities

Edible landscapes that fit a neighborhood

Many Lakewood Ranch homes sit in communities with landscape guidelines. An edible yard doesn't have to look wild. We design layered planting with clean edges, defined paths and ornamental natives so a food forest reads as intentional and well kept, and we design with your community's guidelines in mind.

Building for a whole community? See our commercial food forests for developers, HOAs and master-planned communities.

Stone path through tall grasses and bananas in a Bradenton food forest — Defined paths keep a dense food forest easy to walk.

What grows here

From mangoes to sugarcane

In our Bradenton yard the harvest includes mango, lychee, starfruit, sugar apple, avocado, loquat, pomegranate, fig, citrus, eight banana varieties, three papaya varieties, Panama berry, dragon fruit, peach, Barbados cherry, pineapple, grapes, sugarcane, cassava and sweet potato.

Fast producers like banana, papaya, cassava and sweet potato feed the family while longer-term trees mature. That succession approach is part of every Manatee County project we design.

Canvas bag full of ripe mangoes from the Bradenton food forest — Mangoes from our Bradenton backyard.

Room to grow up

A yard built for kids and family

We designed our Bradenton yard for our children as much as for the fruit. Stepping-stone paths make it a place to explore, the lagoon brings wildlife close, and fruit within reach means kids can pick their own snacks. There's room for them to help plant, dig and harvest, so the garden becomes a classroom without walls.

That's the kind of space we design for Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch families: shade where people actually sit, paths that loop through the planting, harvests close to the kitchen and gathering areas that pull everyone outside.

After installation

Stewardship close to home

Because we're based in Bradenton, Manatee County gardens are close to home for our stewardship crew. An established food forest isn't maintenance-free; it's maintained differently: harvesting, pruning, chop-and-drop, mulching and seasonal resets, plus organic care like compost tea, biochar and worm castings.

Stewardship memberships start at $247 a month for up to ¼ acre, or you can care for it yourself with the watering plan and plant guide from your design packet.

Timing & next steps

Plan in winter, plant when the cold passes

Bradenton sits north of Fort Myers, so we avoid planting cold-sensitive tropicals like mango, papaya and banana from mid-December through the end of January, when frost risk is highest. Winter is design season: the right time to walk your property, finish the plan and line up plants, so installation can start as soon as the cold risk passes.

Next steps: a Free Discovery Call; then a $350 site consultation in Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, credited toward qualifying Design + Build projects; then a full 30+ page design packet with renderings, plant counts and a watering plan. Design + Build starts at $14,000, and small spaces can start with a Phase-1 Eden Zone from $4,997. See packages and pricing.

Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch questions

Common questions

Where is Bring Back Eden based?

Bradenton, Florida. Our home food forest here is where we test ideas before bringing them into clients' yards.

How much is a site consultation in Bradenton or Lakewood Ranch?

$350, including a 60–90 minute walkthrough, a PDF recap and a proposal. It's credited toward qualifying Design + Build projects.

Can I see a finished food forest?

Our Bradenton case study walks through the yard year by year, from bare sand in 2022 to a closed canopy in 2026, with aerial photos and harvests.

Do you offer ongoing care?

Yes. Stewardship memberships start at $247 a month for up to ¼ acre, covering harvesting, pruning, chop-and-drop, mulching and organic care like compost tea.

Do you work on Anna Maria Island?

Yes. Anna Maria Island is in our $350 Bradenton and Sarasota consultation zone. Island yards add salt and wind, so we put salt-tolerant native and edible windbreaks on the exposed edge.

What should I plant first?

Papaya, banana and mulberry can produce in the first year, and figs, pomegranate, Barbados cherry and strawberry tree often do too. Mango and avocado generally take a few years; a bigger tree at planting fruits sooner. If you're starting yourself, begin with three plants: a quick win, a family favorite and one adventure.

Bring Eden home to Manatee County

Book a free 15-minute Discovery Call and tell us about your yard.

Book a Free Discovery Call Estimate your project See the Bradenton case study