Landscape Workshop Buys Landwise Horticultural Services in Sarasota

What happened

Landscape Workshop, an Alabama-based commercial landscape company, announced on October 9, 2026, that it has acquired Landwise Horticultural Services, Inc., a commercial landscape provider based in Sarasota, Florida, that serves the Sarasota and Tampa markets. Landscape Workshop had served Sarasota customers from neighboring locations for years, and Landwise gives it its first physical location in Sarasota. Landwise owner Steve Bonnell and the company's employees have joined Landscape Workshop. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP served as legal counsel to Landscape Workshop, and Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP represented Landwise. The announcement did not include financial terms.

The seller

Landwise is a full-service commercial landscape contractor with design and construction, maintenance, irrigation, and landscape lighting divisions. It works for commercial, industrial, and multifamily properties, including office parks, REITs, shopping centers, condominium associations, and property management firms, and its clients have included Cushman & Wakefield, EastGroup Properties, and Dilweg Properties.

Bonnell, the company's president, has more than 25 years in the green industry. "From day one, we built Landwise on relationships and service, treating every customer's property as if it were our own," he said in the announcement, adding that joining Landscape Workshop "allows us to keep doing what we do best while giving our team the resources and support to continue to grow."

The buyer

Landscape Workshop provides commercial landscape services to office, industrial, retail, healthcare, multifamily, municipal, HOA, education, and hospitality properties. It reports more than 50 locations and operates in 16 states, from Alabama and Florida to Texas, Utah, and Maryland.

An Ares Private Equity fund acquired a majority stake in the company in May 2025, when it had 38 locations across the Southeast. At the time, the company said the capital would help it expand its regional footprint and scale through new acquisitions.

"We've been serving customers in this market for some time, and Landwise gives us the local base we've been looking for to invest even more deeply in Sarasota," said J.T. Price, chief executive of Landscape Workshop.

Where Landscape Workshop has been buying in Florida

Landwise follows Landscape Workshop's acquisitions of Landcrafters, Inc. in May and Big Yellow Services in August, both in Tampa. Between April and August, Landscape Workshop also announced Florida deals in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, and in Orlando.

Those releases differ on one point an owner will care about. Big Yellow owner Daniel Chiarito joined as a senior account manager, and Landcrafters' Michael Tomaino joined as general manager. The Landwise announcement says Bonnell has joined the company without naming his role. Owners weighing a sale to a sponsor-backed platform can read our guide on selling a landscaping business to private equity.

What this means for landscaping owners

Landscape Workshop did not enter Sarasota by buying Landwise. It already served the market from nearby branches, and Price calls the acquisition the local base the company had been looking for. The business it chose is a commercial contractor with commercial real estate firms on its client list, serving the same kinds of properties Landscape Workshop serves. An owner whose market a platform already covers from a neighboring branch is talking to a buyer that has worked the territory before the first meeting. When customers know the business through its owner, the title that owner takes after closing is a term to settle in the letter of intent: this year's Landscape Workshop announcements state it in some deals and leave it out of others.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with landscaping businesses in Florida.

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Source: Landscape Workshop - https://landscapeworkshop.com/landscaping-blog/landscape-workshop-acquires-landwise-horticulture-services