Today we are spotlighting Grow Native! Certified Pro Cody Hayo, who became certified in 2022. Cody is the owner of Pretty City Gardens and Landscapes, LLC, a Grow Native! professional member in St. Louis, Missouri.
Backyard rain garden, constructed in 2019, captures the rainfall from a roof of a home.
The team at Pretty City serves a fairly tight area in St. Louis city, so that they can concentrate their efforts as locally as possible. In this close space, the team has completed a wide range of impactful projects. In 2019, the company designed and constructed a larger backyard rain garden, which captures the rainfall from a roof of a home, sized approximately 1000 square feet, on a standard-sized city lot. The client installed a sculpture behind the garden and it has become a focal point of the backyard, perfectly framed and complemented by the taller native plants in the rain garden basin. This garden was featured on the Sustainable Backyard Tour in 2023, which brought the owner a lot of joy – both because he was able to share his knowledge with others and also because of the compliments received. The property owner really understands the ecological value of native plants and enjoys sharing that message with others. Pretty City provides regular maintenance for this garden, which has been a rewarding experience for the team as well.
Backyard “lawn alternative” garden completed in 2022.
In 2022, the company designed and completed installation of a backyard “lawn alternative” garden, which features the common masses of wildflowers incorporated into all Pretty City gardens. In addition, the garden includes a special sedge “mini-lawn” featuring 5 different native sedge species – importantly, with both clump-forming and spreading species (Carex albicans, C. praegracilis, C. pensylvanica, C. rosea, and C. eburnea). The sedge lawn has been incredibly successful and has worked well as a compromise to giving up the non-native exotic turf grasses entirely. The client wanted an area for her small dog, and she is still able to mow or cut the area a couple of times each year to keep it relatively short. One of the challenges of working in urban gardens, or any small space, with native plants is to select species and design in a way that won’t become overgrown or “wild” looking. Pretty City has found greater acceptance and success of native gardens by selecting shorter species laid out in a way that is “familiar” to what is traditionally seen in the urban landscape.
Prairie reconstruction project at new soccer stadium near downtown St. Louis.
Since 2023, Cody and Pretty City have had the privilege of working on a prairie reconstruction project at the new soccer stadium near downtown St. Louis, guided by a collaborative relationship with other industry experts and mentors including Simon and Monica Barker of Barker Horticultural Services, LLC, and Cody Azotea of Focal Pointe, Inc. This exciting urban commercial project consists of a one acre prairie planting that was seeded the prior year by another company. Long and narrow on a hillside, the site would have otherwise been a challenge to mow. While working on the hillside prairie reconstruction the stewards are treated to beautiful views of the downtown St. Louis skyline, including Union Station, the St. Louis Wheel, and the Gateway Arch! It has been very exciting to see the rapid development of the seeded landscape and the bounty of wildlife that has been attracted to the space in an area that is otherwise mostly an ecological desert.
Cody attributes the success of Pretty City to its community first approach, prioritizing working close to where they are based, and blending that with a fundamental understanding of ornamental horticulture. He has found a great deal of opportunity leaning on the pillars of community, education, and networking. Regarding what inspires him, Cody explains, “Community has always been a big motivator for me when it comes to my work. I remember, when I started landscaping I felt a growing sense of pride and belonging as I traveled around to near neighborhoods and suburbs creating and maintaining gardens. That feeling still motivates me today and has resulted in a fairly tight service area that my business serves, so that we can concentrate our efforts as locally as possible. Last year, one of my staff noted that everyone on our team drives by at least one project that we have completed on their way into work. That thrills me!”
In 2025, the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program is 25 years old. For a quarter century, this native plant education and marketing program has been a significant catalyst for the growth of the native landscaping movement in the lower Midwest and beyond. Certification offered by Grow Native! is a voluntary program that provides recognition of an individual’s knowledge and skills related to working with native plants in a professional capacity. Since launching in 2022, more than 30 native plant professionals have earned credentials through the Grow Native! Professional Certification Program. Learn more here.
