About
Stay with us, play with us, and experience a taste of “Old Florida”
Originally Banes Grove, this Floral City citrus landmark has flourished into what you now see as WonderField Farm & Grove. Bought from Howard Bane in 2017, the Hubbard Family of St. Petersburg, Florida are now the stewards of these beautiful lands – 66 acres to be exact! The legacy of Banes Grove is an asset to the area and community that we do not intend to diminish but rather to enhance and expand.
The Hubbard family at Wonderfield Farm & Grove represents a new breed of land stewards. They are dedicated to preserving the beauty and history of their lands while adopting new strategies to enhance the natural systems and steer their once forgotten acreage back into nourishing food production and mindful immersive spaces. We plan for this project to become a “Hub” for nature lovers, locavores, permaculture enthusiasts, and travelers seeking a real Florida experience away from the main tourist traps. Our hope is that Wonderfield Farm & Grove will create lasting memories for its guests that inspire them to work within and appreciate their natural surroundings wherever they might find themselves.
The founders, Mark and Tara Hubbard
Our property is nestled up next to the Flying Eagle Preserve, only minutes from some of Florida’s most famous freshwater springs, and the entire property line is bordered by a gorgeous freshwater canal. Wonderfield is a perfect place to stay and see a side of Florida like never before.
We hope you stay with us, we hope you play with us, and we hope to give you a taste of “Old Florida” – from the abundant and tasty citrus trees peppering the property, to the idyllic cypress swamps.
From slangin' smoothies to growing fruit, Lev has done it all. He's recently taken his talents to Wonderfield Farm and Grove, to help steward the land, assist in hosting events, and help us grow! You can find him and his team every weekend at St. Pete local markets, selling some gorgeous Florida fruits.
Follow him @floridafruitcoop
Chief Fruit Officer
Lev Pasikhov
Growing up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Mark has spent his life growing his family business, Hubbard's Marina. His family has been fishing the Gulf waters since 1928, and this is how he connected with the Old-Florida family, the Banes. In 2016, Howard Banes pleaded with Mark to purchase his old family land, and seeing the opportunity - Mark made it happen. Through this acquisition and shift in lifestyle, Mark has excitedly learned new skills - cattle ranching, growing food, and caring for acreage. Together with his daughter Tara, they have co-developed the land to be a place where others can enjoy the fruits (pun, intended) of the many generations that came before them!
Co-founder
Mark Hubbard
Tara Lynn is an entrepreneur, yoga teacher, and dedicated to understanding and enhancing the human experience. Her family purchased the 66-acres that now comprise “Wonderfield” in 2016 from a family friend and her relationship with the land began about two years later. She co-founded Wonderfield Farm and Grove, inspired by the creation of her first yoga retreat on the property in 2018. Fueled by this inspiration of this retreat, she was able to motivate all members of the project to adopt sustainable agriculture principles, and they soon turned their forgotten acreage into a successful model of “agritourism”: accepting overnight guests, designing immersive event spaces, planting abundant food forests, and so much more has gone into what is now known as Wonderfield Farm and Grove.
Co-founder
Tara Lynn Hubbard
Meet the Team
Stephen Ambrose is an emergent wild card with skin in game B. He identifies as a student and is in a love affair with the Great Mystery. When he isn't stewarding the land you can find him tending the flame, asking the flora how they want to be loved, and tracking Wild Life. He loves the art of storytelling, indigenous systems knowledge, mythology, and seeing how creative he can get chopping wood and carrying water. Depth rather than growth is one of his current driving forces. His curiosity knows no bounds and is seeing to it the cat lives all nine lives fully. Futbol, the beautiful game, was his life for 30 years, in college helping his team win a national title, going on to win two national titles in the Premier Arena Soccer League, then coaching club soccer. He has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from UTD with a focus in Personal Development and is a NASM certified trainer. One of his near term goals is to facilitate immersions at Wonderfield, so stay tuned!
Land Steward
Stephen Ambrose
Jillian has grown from clean team, to clean team manager, now to our lodging manager! Always showing up to "do the work" with a great attitude, we are absolutely joyed to have her as a part of the Wonderfield "farmily"!
