by Brent Knoll | Aug 20, 2014 | Education, Landscape design
Top Landscape Designer ~ How should you choose your designer?
When looking to design your landscape, begin with the right designer.
Landscape design greatly increases both the beauty and the value of your home. Far from an extra, a gorgeous landscape is the FIRST impression visitors, potential buyers, and neighbors get about you and your home. It showcases your style and taste and shows your community the level at which you are concerned with keeping an aesthetically pleasing, nature friendly, and generally inviting neighborhood. Landscape design is also an investment, and with every good investment, it’s important to do your research to make sure that you invest soundly and properly. Your decision to design a fresh or new landscape begins with choosing your designer.
Brent Knoll happy with his garden tour
Landscape Designer ~ What should I look for?
Experience
The first thing you need to look for in a top landscape designer is experience in the area in which you live. Every region and climate has particulars which will come into play in your design. Your designer must understand the soil quality, prevailing environmental conditions, plant materials that work for your zone and location, and many other factors in order to make recommendations which are realistic and which will truly give you the results you’re looking for.
Artistic Talent
We all know that categorizing art as “good” or “bad” can be a relative thing. Different people enjoy different types of artistic expression. But let’s be honest. Two people may carry out the same artistic task, and one may do it in a way which is voted more pleasing by general concensus. We tend to classify those broadly approved of artists as “talented” or “good” at what they do. When it comes to choosing a top landscape designer, look for their portfolio on their website or ask to see images of their work. Their pictures will showcase their ability to carry out a truly aesthetically pleasing design. Find a designer whose work resonates with your own artistic taste, and you will find a match that you should be able to work well with.
Broad Range of Design Styles
Many landscape designers specialize in one or two types of designs, and while the argument may be made that they are specialists in those areas, they may not offer the artistic flexibility required to give you the particular style you are looking for. Versatility regarding style is essential because each design client is unique, ecclectic, or purist in their own way and needs to be able to be fully heard and understood as they express their aspirations for their garden space. Find a top landscape designer who seems “style flexible” enough for you to comfortably offer all your ideas, knowing they will all be considered workable for the designer. If you can, view their website and peruse their list of styles offered to get a feel for their adaptability.
Reviews and References
Finding a top landscape designer who is professional and easy to work with will be greatly reflected in the reviews available and references offered by the designer. Research web sources such as Yelp, Houzz, and Angie’s List to read reviews which will give you first hand insight from past clients regarding the reliability and competence of your potential designer. Sources like Houzz also offer colleague reviews so you can see what other professionals think of your designer as well. Contact your potential landscape designer and ask for references and samples of their work as well to get a well-rounded feel for what they offer.
My happy clients, the Fors
A Designer Who Offers Installation and Other Follow Up
Knowing how to use AutoCAD or a design program to create a paper design and truly knowing from hands-on experience how the design will work out in the real world are very separate things. A design and an installation can be at complete odds in moving from paper to planting. Meeting a landscape designer who strongly encourages you to use his/her company for the installation process means that you have met a designer who is confident in the full extent of their design abilities. This designer is one who will go to great lengths to create your design as a personal artistic expression, often going so far as to hand-pick every plant which goes into their design. This designer will also offer follow up visits to track the progress and upkeep of their designs, often suggesting tried-and-true fertilization programs and other amenities. Again, view your landscape designer’s website, check out client reviews and references to see to what extent your potential designer will walk with you through the landscape design process.
landscape plans
Community Involvement
We all know community involvement is important. How present we are with our friends, families, neighbors, and communities is a measure of our investment in these areas. All relationships require constant care, and a good landscape designer is also a good member of their neighborhood. Has your designer been known to organize community events, educate by offering workshops or lectures, or participate in community service? Don’t be afraid to ask about this important personal aspect of public outreach.
Brent Knoll and Sarah Reimer with the kids
Communication
Last, but certainly not least is communication. The landscape design and installation process are just that, a process which takes time, thought, and calculated orderly moves to execute. Your landscape design process may take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to several months, and during this time, rest assured adjustments will be made, opinions about plant materials and placement may be reevaluated etc, and you will need a landscape designer who will be available to communicate with you on a multimedia level. A top landscape designer will be available to you via phone calls, consultations, texts, videos, emails, and possibly through social media. They will make every venue of communication accesible for you so that you can feel comfortable with the entire design process. Feel free once more to locate their business reviews and ask their references about their ability to communicate during the design process.
What mistakes should you avoid when seeking a landscape designer?
Now that we have discussed some key pointers in finding the top landscape designer for you, let’s go over some don’ts that can be serious road blocks to having a smooth and painless landscape design process.
DON’T use an inexperienced designer.
An inexperienced or beginner designer may seem appealing on several levels. Maybe they’re offering you a “good deal” or you want to help the beginner out, but a smart beginner will apprentice under a master designer first in order to give quality service to their clients. You’ll be better off finding someone with some experience, and the more experience, the better.
DON’T use a “Landscape Service” over a Landscape Designer.
Landscape service companies are best known for offering landscape maintenance like lawn care and fertilization, but they may try to offer you design and installation as well. While some of these companies may have a good designer working for them, many of them don’t and you may be the recipient of a generic and unsatifying “design” and an underpar installation. Generally, the employees of these companies are not soil experts, plant experts, or designers and therefore may know little when it comes to giving you a landscape which is worth your time and money. Leave the maintenence to these companies, and the design to the seasoned landscape designers.
DON’T use a designer who doesn’t get your style.
Again, landscape design is art. Choose an artist who resonates with your personal style and taste. Schedule a consultation with your potential designer, and tell them your ideas. See how they resonate and collaborate with you on the project. Do they understand your personal flair? Do they seem to have experience with what you are looking for? Can they readily make plant and material recommendations that seem to perfectly fit your ideas? For a pain free way to get some of this info on your designer, look again at their website portfolio and design styles offered to see if you may be a good match to work with each other.
DON’T use a designer who has no web presence or references.
The web is the modern easy access way we find much of what we’re looking for. And web presence is more than just having a great website. It’s about social media, interacting with your audience, and participation on review-based websites like Yelp, Houzz, and Angie’s List, making your info and your references readily available to potential clients. Not providing these things to clients may mean shady business, lack of innovation, or laziness. While this isn’t always true (many old businesses which are very established in their communities haven’t caught up to the available technology), it’s certainly an angle to consider.
DON’T look for fast-food service.
Let’s face it. We live in a fast-paced world. We’ve learned to want what we want and want it now, and while that’s good for creating efficiency, it can hamper quality. Expect your designer to give you a window of at least 2-4 weeks to complete your design. Remember, a busy designer is a GOOD designer! DO expect them to stay in great communication with you throughout your process, but realize that a great design takes time. From the consultation, to picture-taking, constructing your design, researching plant material, compiling price lists and proposals, giving presentations, okaying material with you, making plan adjustments, scheduling installation, etc, there is a lot going on! Be prepared to set aside the time needed to allow the landscape design process to flow naturally. The beauty which will surround you will give you years and years of enjoyment as a reward for your patience.
It’s time to find your landscape designer!
Knoll Landscape Design is a versatile and sustainability-focused company which has been serving the Miami, South Florida area for over 20 years. Landscape Designer Brent Knoll knows the soil, the plants, and the climate of South Florida with the deep awareness that comes from continued hands-on experience and personal attention to every aspect of his client’s designs. He knows what works in our rocky, sandy soil, and can guide you into a design that will look fantastic AND thrive. Brent has the aesthetic eye of an artist and knows a broad range of landscape design styles. He offers installation and all the follow up you need to make sure your project flourishes. He is a excellent communicator, a fan of social media, and is excited to share his reviews and references with his clients. In his spare time, he has created several community gardens, hosted many workshops and lectures, and participated my many enjoyable community service projects. If you are in the Miami-South Florida area, and are looking for a designer for your project, give Brent Knoll a call at 305.496.5155.
Brent giving a garden tour
by Brent Knoll | Jul 7, 2014 | Education, Landscape design
Let’s talk about the best landscape design options for you.
Choosing the best landscape design for your Miami, South Florida home sometimes can be tricky. There are many design elements and variables to sort through, it’s easy to see why a person can be confused when trying to decide what the best landscape design is. You want a landscape that’s not only beautiful, but fits your personal needs as well, for example having a tree that provides great shade and fruit, like a mango or avocado tree. You can’t decide whether to go with a Mediterranean look or Tropical Design? You have many design choices with numerous landscape elements to consider. You’re design should flow with the architecture of your home, inside and out.
Landscape Designer Brent Knoll of Knoll Landscape Design is here to help. Brent has over 20 years of designing gardens in South Florida and has put together his top ten landscape designs for beautifying your outdoor space. In this article he’ll discuss the best landscape design for Miami and the elemental factors that make them work. So what is the best landscape design for your Miami, South Florida home? Here’s Brent’s top ten landscape designs for Miami:
1. Mediterranean Landscape Design– Mediterranean gardens are best known for their casual elegance. The inspiration for these gardens comes from the coastal areas of Spain, Italy and France, this landscape style combines relaxed materials and plants with formal accents and designs. Imagine spiral topiaries, lavender, cypress trees and ornamentals combined with terra cotta pots, tiered fountains, roman columns and greek statues. That’s a pretty picture!
Mediterranean Landscape Design
2. Tropical Landscape Design– Tropical Landscapes in Miami are a slam dunk as South Florida is…Tropical. Imagaine a Tropical Landscape full of hummingbirds and butterflies, exotic flowering bat plants whose whiskery flowers are 20″ long, fragrant trumpet flowers perfuming the night air and the creaking sound of bamboo as it sways in the wind. Small waterfalls flowing in to ponds filled with papyrus, lotus flowers and koi fish. The icing on the cake is lying in a hammock between two coconuts as you sip cold ginger tea and listen to the birds sing. That’s paradise….Tropical is the best landscape design in Miami and South Florida when it comes to lushness, rapid growth, and plant variety.
Tropical Landscape Miami
3. Edible Landscape Design– Edible landscaping is an infusion of herbs, fruits and vegetable plants combined with hummingbird and butterfly flora, ornamentals, nectar plants to attract pollinators, fruit trees and shrubs. The object of an edible landscape design is to create a beautiful, yet practical organic garden, one that provides for your basic needs of aesthetics, privacy and shade, but can be eaten from as well. This is a great way to say good by to all that lawn grass and expensive upkeep by planting lot’s of crisp lettuce, fresh herbs and vegetables. Your shade tree becomes a delcious mango tree. Privacy hedge a passion flowering vine on fence giving you fruit all year long. In my opinion, Edible Landscapes are great way to become empowered about growing your own food and setting an example for the community. Are Edible Landscapes the best landscape design for being sustainable, growing food and making the most of your taxable property…Yes! For more information on edible landscaping in Miami, visit our friends Easy Edible Landscapes at http://www.easyediblelandscapes.com
Papaya
4. Certified Wildlife Habitat– These gardens hold a special place in my heart as they’re all about connecting with Nature. With the continued development of Metropolitan properties, more of the natural environment is removed including the soil, to be replaced with huge homes, concrete and small lawns. In my line of work as Landscape Designer, I’m digging all day long in construction fill, bottles, concrete and whatever is left over from the site. The first step for creating balance is to take care of the soil by rejuvenating it with organic material. Then we plant the prettiest of native trees, shrubs, flowering vines, butterfly and bird attracting plants, grasses and ground covers. The result is a outdoor space full of song birds, butterflies fluttering about, frogs singing at night and a place for all to find solace, a natural sanctuary. This is the best landscape design hands down for attracting wildlife to your Miami home.
Certified Wildlife Habitat
5. Butterfly and Hummingbird Haven– the name says it all! The one consistant element in all my gardens are the butterflies. I can’t help it, they’re so much fun to be around. Always fluttering, chasing and nectaring, so tranquil and elegant. It’s easy to attract butterflies in our temperate climate. In one Miami garden alone, I attracted over 30 of native species. It was butterflies gone wild!!! Great thing about butterfly plants, they also bring in the hummingbirds. Plants like ruby red penta, firebush and firespike are great for nectaring, while corkystem passion vine, milkweed and cassia serve as the larval plants. Combine those elements and you’ve got buffet line for our little friends and entertainment for hours. For attracting butterflies, the butterfly and hummingbird haven is the best landscape design for this purpose.
Zebra butterfly nectaring on firebush
6. Healing Garden Design– If there’s a garden I’d prefer to install the most, it would be the Healing Garden. In our fast-pacing, chaotic world, it’s easy to feel the effects of stress and become unbalanced or even ill. If you’re looking for an incredible way to bring healing and meditative calm to your space, then you’ve met your future garden. With restoration of the body, mind, and spirit at its heart, it is infused with many divine and delightful elements. We use things like sacred geometry, scent, color, sound therapy, water features, herbal and medicinal plants, meditation and prayer niches, edibles, and various wildlife attractants among others. Imagine being greeted with the fragrance of a joy perfume tree each time you come home from work or relaxing on a bench near a fountain listening to song birds. Butterflies always in chase, hummingbirds nectaring on native flowers. If you want a Sanctuary, a place of solace, Healing Gardens are the best landscape design in Miami for finding balance and peace of mind.
Healing Garden
7. Sacred Sanctuary Design and Labryths– With our days typically filled with work, home life, social life, hobbies, etc., we can lose sight of the sacred. And yet this part of our life is (for many of us) the most crucial and central need we have. Imagine having a garden truly set apart as a holy place for meditation, prayer, and worship, and as a reminder of all that is divine in your life. We encourage the use of things like sacred geometry, crystals, prayer flags, meditation benches and other sacred symbols as templates for these designs. Wildlife attracting plants like firebush for the butterflies and surnam cherry for the birds will bring balance to any space, ecouraging sanctuary and peace for all.
Sacred Geometry Design
8. Raised Bed Gardening– Imagine having an organic marketplace in your own back yard! The Raised Bed Garden is a classic approach to growing herbs and vegetables. Raised Bed Gardens are neatly contained and easy to work, this simple design offers everything you need to begin growing the healthy herbs, fruits and vegetables you and your family deserve. Raised bed garden frames can be made with wood, metal, stone or plastic. The wood raised bed frames are build with 2″ pine, cedar, cypress or teak, are normally 2′ to 4′ wide, 4′ to 10′ long, and are 10″ deep, filled with organic soil, seasonally planted with seeds and starter plants and fertilized organically. These little raised garden beds are the best landscape design approach for beginners to grow their own food.
Raised Bed Garden
9. Bamboo Retreat– Adding bamboo to your landscape can be perfect for many situations. Let’s say you’ve got a building next to your property that you don’t want to see anymore or don’t want your neighbor to see you skinny dipping in your pool, bamboo as a privacy hedge is ideal due to it’s fast growing nature and non invasiveness. (we only install clumping, non running bamboo at Knoll Landscape Design) The Bamboo Retreat Designs we create are lush, tropical, exotic and elegant, each unique in presentation and impact. Imagine a small bamboo forest surrounding a clear water limestone pool with koi fish, water lillies, orchids and flowering bromeliads, a true vacation getaway in your back yard!
Bamboo retreat
10. Edible Forest Design– If your tired of throwing money away for costly yard upkeep and want to make the most of your property by growing your own food, then the Edible Forest is the landscape design for you. This sustainable “green” design combines concepts like permaculture and companion planting. This self-sustaining microclimate involves the layering of plants and fruit trees according to height, sun tolerance, and growth habits, creating tiny forests that mimic nature and work in beautiful harmony to produce a constant yield of fresh organic deliciousness! Replace your lawn grass with crisp lettuce, fresh herbs, nutritious vegetables and fruits. Tear out that whitefly destroyed ficus hedge and grow a super sweet surnam cherry hedge. Remove that invasive schefflera tree and plant a mango tree, surrounded by papayas and sweet potatoes. With this new style of landscaping you’ll grow enough food for your family and have enough to give to friends. Edible Forests are the best landscape design for making the most of your organic gardening space.
Edible Forest Garden
Need a consulation or design?
Whether it’s a mediterranean style landscape with tiered Italian fountains, a Tropical Paradise with exotic orchids and waterfalls, or just showing off your prize lemon tree in your Edible Forest, you have many choices for landscaping your South Florida property. Need direction for where to start first? Maybe a consulation will shed light on what style of landscape best suits your architecture? Have the ideas and just need a landscape design? Knoll Landscape Design is ready to help you get started. With over 20 year designing and installing gorgeous landscapes, Landscape Designer Brent Knoll knows the best landscape design for your property and is just a phone call away at 3054965155. Call today and get your property looking great!
by Brent Knoll | Jun 19, 2014 | Education, Landscape design
Is your Ficus Hedge Dying? The following article will shed light on the whitefly problems of Miami Dade County and privacy hedge plant options to choose from.
Whitefly have become a serious problem here in South Florida over the last 5 to 10 years. We all know what whitefly is by now right? It’s that cute little, little, little white fly looking thing that attaches itself to the back of plant leaves like ficus hedges and palms. Whitefly has a white fuzzy appearance, when the leaves are shaken, there becomes a cloud of dust, then you see little bugs flying all over. Is your ficus hedge dying? If so, it’s probably whitefly.
In Miami, some species of whiteflies can become serious pests of certain vegetable crops, hedges, greenhouse plants or ornamental plants. Two of the most important species are the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, and the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. In colder climates, whiteflies die outdoors, but in warmer climates, as well as indoors and in greenhouses, they can reproduce throughout the year with several overlapping generations.
Biology
Adult whiteflies are about 1⁄10 to 1⁄16 inch long and look like tiny moths (Figure 1). They have four broad, delicate wings that are held rooflike over the body and covered with a white powdery wax. Adult females usually lay between 200 and 400 eggs. Sometimes the eggs are deposited in a circular pattern in groups of 30 to 40 because the female will often keep her mouthparts in the plant to feed while moving her abdomen in a circle.
Within about a week, the eggs hatch into flattened nymphs, called crawlers, that wander about the plant, usually our prize ficus hedge. Soon, they insert their mouthparts into the plant and begin to feed. After their first molt, the nymphs lose their legs and antennae. They attach themselves to the undersides of ficus leaves with several waxlike rods coming from their bodies, giving them the appearance of small white oval scale. The nymphs remain fixed to the plant and feed for about four weeks. After a pupa stage, the adults emerge and live for about one month. Within a population, all life stages are present, and generations often overlap.
Figure 1
An adult whitefly.
Damage
Ficus Hedge Dying? Whitefly kill ficus by sucking out plant juices. Because large amounts of sap can be removed, primarily by the developing nymphs, heavily infested plants can be seriously weakened and grow poorly. Leaves often turn yellow, appear dry and drop prematurely. (Figure 2).
Also, whiteflies suck out more plant juice than they can digest, and they excrete the excess as a sweet, sticky substance called honeydew. The honeydew covers leaf surfaces and acts as a growth medium for a black, sooty mold. Both the removal of plant juices and the presence of the black, sooty mold growing on the honeydew can interfere with photosynthesis.
In some parts of the country, some species of whitefly can transmit several plant viruses.
Figure 2
Whiteflies suck out plant juices. This seriously weakens the plant.
Solutions for dealing with whitefly? Treating ficus hedges with toxic chemicals each month gets very expensive. The toll on the environment is significant as it poisons our water and soil. In my opinion, it’s easier to work with landscape plants that aren’t susceptible to whitefly than to spray harmful chemicals in an attempt to control them.Hedge material is a great place to start when it comes to dealing with whitefly. Here’s my top ten hedges for South Florida and Miami that are pretty resistant to whitefly.
Is your ficus hedge dying? If so, choose from the list below for hardy shrubs that can stand up to whitefly.
1. Cherry Hedge-
The shrub or tree, to 25 ft (7.5 m) high, has slender, spreading branches and resinously aromatic foliage. The opposite leaves, bronze when young, are deep-green and glossy when mature; turn red in cold, dry winter weather. They are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, blunt- to sharp-pointed, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 in (4-6.25 cm) long. Long-stalked flowers, borne singly or as many as 4 together in the leaf axils, have 4 delicate, recurved, white petals d a tuft of 50 to 60 prominent white stamens with pale-yellow anthers. The 7- to 8-ribbed fruit, oblate, 3/4 to 1 1/2 in (2-4 cm) wide, turns from green to orange as it develops and, when mature, bright-red to deep-scarlet or dark, purplish maroon (“black”) when fully ripe. The skin is thin, the flesh orange-red, melting and very juicy; acid to sweet, with a touch of resin and slight bitterness. There may be 1 fairly large, round seed or 2 or 3 smaller seeds each with a flattened side, more or less attached to the flesh by a few slender fibers. Full sun
2. Bamboo- textilis gracilis
3. Stopper-
Native stoppers (small trees/large shrubs in the Myrtaceae) are excellent choices as low- maintenance, salt-tolerant, medium to tall privacy hedges, accepting full sun or partial shade (growth denser in full sun). Growth is slow to moderate, but patience will be rewarded as they mature into definite landscape assets. Stoppers have little to no problems with whitefly and are fairly bug resistant all together. All have striking foliage, new growth often tinged red to pink, and (if not heavily pruned) produce colorful fruit (attracts birds). Full sun.
4. Firebush–
Firebush is a showy, fast-growing, semi-woody evergreen shrub that can get up to 15 ft (4.6 m) tall under ideal conditions, but usually stays much smaller. It has whorled leaves, usually with three but occasionally as many as seven at each node. The leaves are elliptic to oval, about 6 in (15 cm) long, and gray-pubescent underneath with reddish veins and petioles. They are reflexed upward from the midvein. Throughout the year, firebush produces showy terminal clusters (cymes) of bright reddish-orange or scarlet tubular flowers, each about 0.75 in (1.9 cm), long. Even the flower stems are red. The clusters of fruit also are showy. Each fruit is a juicy berry with many small seeds, ripening from green to yellow to red and finally to black. Do to it’s fast growing and dense foliage, firebush makes for an ideal privacy hedge as well as a nectaring plant for butterflies and hummingbirds. A firebush plant usually has flowers and fruit in various stages. Loves full sun. Knoll Landscape Design highly recommends this material for a long lasting hedge.
5. Cocoplum-
Rounded, shiny green leaves are set off by red-tipped new growth on this most commonly sold variety. The plant produces small white flowers, followed by fruit that’s often made into jelly…or as an attraction in a wildlife garden. The plum is pink and ripens to purple with a fairly bland flavor, and the almond-flavored seeds can be roasted and eaten or crushed for use in cooking. Terrific as hedge shrubs or privacy plants, these native Florida plants can grow to about 15 feet if you let them – though most of the time they’re kept trimmed to around 4 feet. This is an easy-care plant that can be kept more manicured for a formal look or left to grow in its naturally pretty rounded shape in a casual landscape style. There is a “horizontal” cultivar which can be grown as more of a groundcover shrub and is more salt tolerant than “Red Tip” cocoplum.
6. Jamaican Caper-
This 6- to 20-foot-tall, native shrub is an upright to spreading plant that is related to plant producing edible capers. The evergreen leaves of the Jamaica Caper are lightgreen above, with fine brown scales below. These glossy, oval leaves are folded together when they first emerge and give the plant’s new growth a bronze appearance. The leaves also have a notched tip. Twigs are brownish gray and pubescent. Jamaica Caper flowers have very showy, two-inch-long, purple stamens and white anthers and white petals. The inflorescence is comprised of terminal clusters consisting of 3 to 10 individual flowers. The fruits are 3- to 8-inch-long cylindrical pods containing small brown seeds that are embedded in a scarlet pulp. This is a fabulous privacy hedge and is whitefly resistant.
7. Jasmine-
Orange Jessamine is a small, tropical, evergreen tree or shrub growing up to 7 m tall. The plant flowers throughout the year and makes a fabulous hedge no and has little to no problems with whitefly. Its leaves are glabrous and glossy, occurring in 3-7 oddly pinnate leaflets which are elliptic to cuneate-obovate to rhombic. Flowers are terminal, corymbose, few-flowered, dense and fragrant. Petals are 12–18 mm long, recurved and white (or fading cream). The fruit of Murraya paniculata is fleshy, oblong-ovoid, coloured red to orange, and grows up to 1 inch in length. This is a full sun hedge and Knoll Landscape Designs favorite!
8. Areca Palm-
The Areca Palm, scientific name Dypsis lutescens (synonym: Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens) is a beautiful palm tree from Madagascar. This plant is also known as Butterfly Palm, Yellow Palm, Golden Cane Palm, Madagascar palm and Areca Lutescens and is a superior hedge material. It is a common ornamental in subtropical and tropical regions around the world. Probably it is the most cultivated nursery palm tree. However, it is endangered and very rare in its natural habitat Madagascar.
The Areca palm is a low maintenance plant and a fast grower. You can grow this exotic plant as a house plant. It will bring a tropical touch into your home and purify the air. The Areca is consistently rated among the best houseplants for removing all indoor air toxins.
The graceful Areca Palm tends to grow in clumps. The adult plant looks like a large bush that can reach 20 feet or more in height with a spread of 5-10 feet making it a great hedge plant for privacy. As a houseplant it is usually grown much smaller. Landscape designers love this plant for it’s simplicity and grace. Full sun to part shade.
9. Buttonwood–
Green buttonwood Conocrpus erectus (and the silver leaf form) is another Florida native sometimes grown as a hedge. Buttonwood hedges often loose density at the base due to insufficient light (more so the silver leaf form) and misplaced sprinklers. This detracts from what can otherwise be an attractive hedge, and an especially good choice for coastal properties. Buttonwood experiences a prolonged period of winter dormancy during which there is little leaf renewal at which time the hedge may lose some density. If installing green buttonwood as a hedge, look for ‘Momba’ a more compact growing cultivar. These are full sun and make wonderful hedges in Miami.
10. Fishtail Palms
Need a privacy hedge but don’t want to do the work!?
Landscape Designer Brent Knoll of Knoll Landscape Design is there for you. Brent has over 20 years of landscape design experience in Miami and South Florida and is ready to help you. Call Brent at 30549651555 to schedule a consultation and get the privacy you need today!!!
by Brent Knoll | Jun 7, 2013 | Landscape design
A Zen Garden provides a space of peaceful serenity where one can find an opportunity for meditation and inward reflection. When the pressures and stresses of the world become great, the best place to “retreat” can be within.
The state of Zen is a state of quiet contemplative stillness and, with the proper placement and careful design, a garden space can facilitate and enhance that state. Through the art of feng-shui and the application of the right plants and flowers, Brent can create a tranquil space that, while overflowing with life and vitality, will maintain a reliable tranquility.
Zen Gardens are traditionally constructed from rocks and gravel. The Sakuteiki, the oldest known text regarding Japanese gardening, tells that in a place where there is neither a lake or a stream, one can put in place what is called a kare-sansui, or dry landscape. The intention behind such a construction is to reflect the essence of nature using various types of rocks as opposed to flora. The very careful placement of the rocks is essential to the power and purpose of a zen garden space. Large jagged rocks are used to represent cliffs and mountains while rounded stones and gravel become water and shoreline. This juxtaposition of representation and substance carries with it an important spiritual lesson in the balance of fullness and emptiness.
In Brent’s designs, he captures the essence of this tradition while infusing his flair for modern design and his extensive experiential knowledge of beautiful exotic plants. He utilizes rocks, water, trees, and plants to create a magical space for meditative bliss.
by Brent Knoll | Jun 7, 2013 | Landscape design
Fill your outdoor living space with all the rich culture and charm of the Mediterranean. Marvelous statues and fountains will bring the flair of classical and Hellenistic sculpture, carefully sculpted topiaries add a clean well groomed look to your living landscape, and a thoughtful arrangement of flora will make every trip into your backyard a whimsical trip around the Med.
by Brent Knoll | Jun 7, 2013 | Landscape design
Recreate the exotic sights and aromas of a pristine tropical paradise in your own back yard. We carefully select the perfect exotic plants for your space and methodically place them in a beautiful natural design.
With careful placement and proper care your tropical garden will become a favorite destination of hummingbirds and butterflies everywhere. Aromatic flowering trees will entice the senses and hidden tropical waterfalls will take you away to your own personal jungle sanctuary.
