About
Dustin Felix. I am a Florida-registered Landscape Architect (#LA6667445) and ISA Certified Arborist® (FL-346600A) based in northeast Florida. I find outdoor spaces – parks, streets, plazas, yards – fascinating because they can connect us with the outdoors - wind, sunlight, bird song, people watching. Connecting with the outdoors can calm us, it revitalizes us, and helps provide us new perspectives. I believe Landscape Architecture is creating a positive connection between the individual(s) and the surrounding space – any space, even an alleyway. After several years working in small, medium, and large firms, as well as public sector work, I started my own company, Feather + Spade, LLC, in September 2024.
The Feather. When I was younger, I was fortunate enough to travel to some of the world’s underdeveloped regions on behalf of the U.S. Government. Due to conflict, most of the places I worked were too dangerous for American citizens to move about freely without armed escort. I found myself spending lots of my free time within guarded compounds counting birds flying overhead. This magnificent boredom led to purchasing a bird guide, then binoculars, then bird song apps, more bird guides, and iPhone apps. I became addicted to birds. I eventually wrote my graduate thesis on design requirements for vegetated roofs to support enroute habitat for neo-tropical passerines (i.e. migrating song birds) in urban environments.
The Spade. Between overseas assignments, at home I would garden to attract birds. I learned to appreciate the relationship various bird species have with plants. One day, while I was crawling around installing shrubs, my spouse said I should become a Landscape Architect. A what?! I had never heard of the profession, but I knew it was the sound of my future. From there, I enrolled in a Master of Landscape Architecture program at Pittsburgh’s Chatham University using the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. I graduated in May 2015, and I have been working as a landscape design professional since January 2026.