Transform your Coral Gables Florida home with local design

Few places in South Florida capture the essence of timeless beauty like Coral Gables. Nicknamed The City Beautiful, this lush, historic neighborhood is known for its tree-lined boulevards, Mediterranean architecture, and elegant sense of order. From the grand entrances of its estates to the charming courtyards tucked behind iron gates, Coral Gables feels like a living garden—and that’s exactly what makes designing landscapes here such an exciting challenge.

At Knoll Landscape Design, we’ve had the pleasure of creating and transforming many properties throughout Coral Gables Florida, blending tropical color, architectural balance, and sustainable design into outdoor spaces that truly belong in this remarkable city.

In this post, we’ll explore what makes Coral Gables such a distinctive place to live and design, the architectural styles that influence our work, and how thoughtful landscaping brings the “City Beautiful” spirit to life in your own backyard.

The timeless charm of Coral Gables

Founded in the 1920s by visionary developer George Merrick, Coral Gables Florida was created as part of the early City Beautiful movement—an urban design philosophy that celebrated harmony, architecture, and lush greenery.

Merrick’s dream was to build a “City Beautiful” in every sense—a garden city where Mediterranean-inspired architecture and tropical landscaping worked hand in hand. That vision lives on today in the grand boulevards shaded by towering banyan trees, the pastel stucco homes with terracotta roofs and wrought-iron balconies, and the city’s abundance of parks, fountains, and green spaces.

You can still feel Merrick’s legacy in Coral Gables’ most famous landmarks—the elegant Biltmore Hotel rising above the treetops, the romantic Venetian Pool carved from coral rock, and the graceful plazas and courtyards that define the city’s timeless charm.

While Orlando later adopted “The City Beautiful” as its official motto, in Coral Gables Florida the phrase captures its original spirit—a place where design and nature coexist in perfect balance.

Architecture that inspires landscape design

One of the things that makes Coral Gables so special is its architecture. The city’s design code emphasizes Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial styles, but you’ll also find elegant Modern, Neoclassical, and even mid-century homes tucked throughout the neighborhood. Each of these styles inspires a different kind of landscape design approach.

Mediterranean Revival homes

These are the heart and soul of Coral Gables. Characterized by stucco walls, terracotta roofs, and arched entryways, Mediterranean Revival homes call for landscaping that feels romantic and timeless. We often use symmetry and formality here—think sculpted hedges of podocarpus, pathways lined with bougainvillea, and courtyards bursting with potted palms and jasmine.

Spanish Colonial style

Similar to Mediterranean Revival but often more rustic, Spanish Colonial homes look beautiful with natural textures—coral rock walls, gravel paths, and native palms. We love pairing these homes with drought-tolerant tropicals like agave, coontie, and silver saw palmetto, which complement the architecture without overpowering it.

Contemporary Coral Gables

In recent years, Coral Gables Florida has seen a rise in clean-lined modern homes that still respect the city’s traditional aesthetic. For these properties, we design with contrast—sleek concrete, black pebbles, bold architectural plants like traveler’s palms or heliconias, and lighting that highlights the geometry of the space at night.

Historic estates

There’s no shortage of grand old estates in Coral Gables, each with mature trees and original coral rock features. In these landscapes, our job is to honor the past—preserving old oaks and palms while adding modern irrigation, lighting, and underplanting that enhances without disturbing the existing charm.

Designing with the Coral Gables environment in mind

Coral Gables Florida has its own microclimate, thanks to its proximity to Biscayne Bay and the abundance of tree canopy. It’s warm and humid year-round, with plenty of rainfall—ideal for a tropical and semi-tropical plant palette. But it also means landscapes need to be designed for drainage, resilience, and longevity.

At Knoll Landscape Design, we specialize in creating gardens that look beautiful and thrive in Coral Gables conditions. That means:

• Using salt-tolerant species near the Bay.
• Designing drainage systems to handle heavy rains without waterlogging roots.
• Planting with hurricane-resistant trees like gumbo limbo, lignum vitae, and live oak.
• Selecting native and climate-adapted species that flourish naturally—like firebush, coontie, and Thryallis.

We’re constantly thinking about how to make a landscape feel lush while keeping it sustainable. Every yard in Coral Gables is different, but the goal is always the same: create something that looks like it belongs here.

Blending luxury and livability

One of the most exciting things about designing in Coral Gables is the variety of lifestyles and outdoor spaces. From expansive estates on Old Cutler Road to smaller courtyards near Miracle Mile, every property offers its own rhythm and opportunity.

We’ve designed outdoor kitchens shaded by palms, tranquil koi ponds framed by coral rock, and lush gardens with native understories that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Luxury in Coral Gables Florida doesn’t mean over-the-top; it means thoughtful design—creating spaces where architecture, landscape, and lifestyle flow together.

Here are a few of the features we often include in Coral Gables landscapes:

• Limestone or coral rock pathways that tie the house to its surroundings.
• Outdoor living areas with pergolas, kitchens, and fireplaces for entertaining.
• Native and tropical planting palettes that offer color and texture year-round.
• Water features like reflecting pools or fountains that add a timeless Mediterranean touch.
• Accent lighting to highlight architectural details and old-growth trees at night.

Our experience designing Coral Gables landscapes

We’re proud to have designed and installed numerous landscapes throughout Coral Gables, each one tailored to its home’s architecture and the client’s lifestyle.

Take a look at our portfolio, and you’ll see examples of our work across South Florida—including several Coral Gables properties where we’ve reimagined both historic and modern homes.

From restoring the gardens of classic 1930s estates to designing modern outdoor living areas with exotic palms and tropical blooms, our approach is always hands-on and deeply rooted in craftsmanship. Brent Knoll, the founder and creative force behind Knoll Landscape Design, personally oversees each project to ensure the vision is perfectly executed.

Because we’re based in Miami, we understand the local conditions intimately—from soil composition and plant availability to the subtleties of sunlight and shade at different times of year.

That local expertise is what sets us apart when it comes to Coral Gables Florida landscaping.

Plants that thrive in Coral Gables landscapes

The lush, tropical vibe of Coral Gables invites a plant palette that’s vibrant, textured, and full of movement. Here are some of our go-to plants for this area:

Palms and trees

• Royal palm (for grandeur and symmetry)
• Foxtail palm (for softness and color)
• Live oak (a Coral Gables classic)
• Gumbo limbo (for shade and resilience)
• Silver buttonwood (for silvery contrast near coastal areas)

Flowering shrubs and color plants

• Bougainvillea (iconic and bursting with color)
• Hibiscus and Jatropha (for continuous blooms)
• Firebush and porterweed (great for butterflies)
• Ixora (perfect for formal hedges)

Groundcovers and accents

• Dwarf mondo grass
• Liriope
• Bromeliads (for texture and tropical flair)
• Coontie (native and hardy)

Together, these plants create the layered, lush look that makes Coral Gables landscapes so captivating—alive with color yet deeply rooted in the city’s natural environment.

Preserving the City Beautiful

One of the things that makes Coral Gables Florida truly unique is its commitment to beauty and order. The city’s founders envisioned streetscapes lined with tropical trees and architectural harmony—and that legacy continues today.

At Knoll Landscape Design, we take that heritage seriously. Every design we create in Coral Gables respects the city’s historic character and zoning guidelines while introducing fresh, modern ideas that enhance both the property and the neighborhood.

Our goal isn’t just to design a landscape that looks good today—it’s to create something that will mature beautifully over time, becoming part of the long story of Coral Gables itself.

Bringing Coral Gables beauty to your home

Whether you live in a grand Mediterranean estate, a sleek modern home, or a charming cottage in the Gables, your landscape should be an extension of your architecture and your lifestyle.

At Knoll Landscape Design, we bring decades of experience, local knowledge, and an artist’s eye to every project. We understand how to balance tropical exuberance with classic elegance, how to work with native plants to reduce maintenance, and how to create spaces that feel both luxurious and natural.

If you’re ready to reimagine your Coral Gables property—whether it’s a full landscape redesign or a refresh that highlights what’s already there—we’d love to help you bring it to life.

Explore our portfolio to see examples of our Coral Gables projects, and get in touch to start designing your dream garden.

The beauty of Coral Gables, reimagined

Coral Gables Florida is more than just a city; it’s a living, breathing landscape, a vision of tropical elegance that’s lasted for over a century. With the right design, your home can become part of that story—a space that’s as timeless and beautiful as the city itself.