Dune vegetation is an essential component of coastal landscape resilience, yet the ability of dune plants to withstand and recover from the impacts of storms remains loosely quantified. This is especially true along the subtropical coast of Southwest Florida, where significant hurricane impacts from Ian, Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton have challenged vegetation resilience. Using a combination of ground surveys and remote sensing, we documented natural plant recovery and revegetation efforts following the most recent storm, Hurricane Milton. We also quantify sand accumulation and retention with and without vegetation using field-based measures, lidar, and modelling. Results from initial monitoring of natural vegetation recovery show that species responded differently to storm events in terms of survival and regrowth, with some species nearly absent on post-hurricane beaches while others recovered rapidly. Restoration planting accelerated recovery in terms of total vegetation cover. We also saw large differences in sand accretion among different species, with beach elder (Iva imbricata) and sea oats (Uniola paniculata) building significantly higher embryo dunes. Plants of any species accreted almost five times as much sand as bare sand control sites, and accretion was especially active during the height of the local dry season. In general, inter-storm sand accumulations in post-Ian sediment cores taken in Southwest Florida dunes are on the order of ~10 cm/yr, which is believed to be driven by vegetation. Modeling results and lidar data further support the importance of vegetation in both dune development and resistance to erosion. While natural revegetation does occur following devastating hurricanes, restoration paired with beach renourishment can speed up the process and help to maintain coastal resilience in hurricane-prone regions. Working with federal, state, county, and municipal partners, the goal of this work is to develop a quantitative framework to assess future resilience and develop restoration strategies that benefit managers and coastal communities.