Knoll Landscape Design

Brent Knoll is a landscape designer and organic gardener, specializing in zen bamboo gardens and edible landscapes. His talent and skill stem from 20 years of experience in the industry, and a full-fledged farming upbringing in his home state of Nebraska. Brent is also the creator and director of The Healing Garden of Miami, a nonprofit organization interested in ecologically sustainable living and education. Brent is currently promoting his Kidz Gone Bananas program, installing fruit gardens for local Miami schools, among other community supporting services. Brent continues to bring beauty, education, and fun to South Florida through his many hands-on and educational contributions.

Zen Gardens

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.

Mediterranean Gardens

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.

Tropical Gardens

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.

Edible Landscapes

l carefully design my edible landscapes so that they can be enjoyed like any other ornamental garden, with added emphasis on the healthful properties of fresh, living foods. Every garden project is unique and takes on its own life in a marriage of beauty and practicality. Creating an edible landscape doesn’t mean that your whole garden needs to be edible- In fact, nature is so bountiful that filling a yard with edibles yields way too much food for most families, not to mention the time and work required. Instead, careful planning and the thoughtful planting of fruits, herbs and vegetables results in a garden that pleases the eye, the body and soul. I might incorporate fruits, vegetables and herbs into an existing space, or make adjustments to minimize some beautiful but otherwise unproductive plant material, in order to attract birds and butterflies, to adjust sunlight or to create a pleasant ambience where healing can take place. In today’s hard-driven world that puts so much emphasis on work and commercial productivity, few of us have the time or energy to cultivate the habits that keep us healthy. Most people are surprised to discover just how therapeutic it is to enjoy nature in their own garden- even for a few minutes a day. By thoughtfully arranging the landscape and adding architectural details like benches, fountains, foot-paths and bridges, I can help you to create a soothing atmosphere for you tocelebrate life with family and friends.

Pick Your Salads Every Night!

What is more satisfying than journeying into your beautiful healing garden to gather your fresh organic dinner? Even the smallest of properties have the potential to provide a prolific bounty!

Beans & Cucumbers

These climbers make for a great garden display. There are many methods of facilitating these prolific vining plants. Their exceptional beauty is outdone only by the joy of their fruit!

Passion Vine & Fruit

Passion fruit is a wonderful example of the blending of aesthetics and nourishment. The passion vine is very plush and grows a fantastically unique purple flower. The fruit is sweet, delicious, and truly a nutritional marvel!

Sweet Fruits

Here in South Florida we have the wonderful opportunity to grow a very large spectrum of tropical fruits. From melons and grapes, to Mango and Papaya trees (or the Jak Fruit pictured above) we have been blessed with so many great options for our fruit filled landscapes.

Classic Veggies

Brent is a big fan of the old favorites. He infuses any edible garden with the basics; broccoli, cabbage, kale, carrots, etc.

Heirloom Vegetables

An heirloom vegetable is a vegetable that was grown before the mass onset of hybridization and industrial/commercial farming. Many modern plants have been manipulated for the purposes of storage, pest resilience, quantity, and many other aspects that have little to do with what really matters. Heirlooms are valued by their taste and nourishment; real homegrown values. Brent uses the finest heirloom seeds, and he is always trying new cultivars.

Lettuces

Lettuce is a crispy nutritious accompaniment to any meal and it provides a great deal of our daily supply of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Furthermore, the wide range of green shades and beautiful shapes create a beautiful backdrop to our gardens. Lettuce can be grown most of the year and it is easier than you could imagine!

Healing Gardens

A Healing Garden is a space that is created with the intention to enhance our inborn stability and to reinforce the grounding belief that we are connected with nature. It’s a space with a therapeutic magnetic pulse, a beacon that offers solace and sanctuary for all to enjoy fresh air, sunshine and shade. With exotic flowering trees, fruits, veggies, herbs and sacred plants, and with architectural accents like fountains, benches, bridges and bird baths, a Healing Garden becomes a space to connect with friends and family, a place where you can express your creativity, and can nurture and love. The plants that you choose to share this space with you become your friends, an extended green family. By introducing super foods, herbs and fruits, you can create a sustainable space for nurturing on the physical level, and feel empowered to take your health into your own hands by growing your own food, rekindling the sense of stewardship that is our birthright. By carefully selecting native trees that will thrive in this tropical climate, including flowering plants to attract butterflies, and bushes with berries to attract birds and other friends, your Healing Garden will become a natural extension of your home. It is in our power to create a space where you can gather, connect, explore, share, bond, laugh, nurture and meditate, a place where you can feel grounded and centered.

Aromatherapy

Lately more and more people are becoming aware of the alternative natural remedies that are available to us. One of these popular methods is the use of natural scents and aromas to balance and relax us. Instead of using expensive oils and incense, we can grow sweet aromatic plants and flowers that will bloom and fill our surroundings with a marvelous scope of sweet delicious scents to enjoy.

Sound Therapy

Certain plants, such as bamboo, actually provide a therapeutic presence by way of the sounds they help create in our surroundings. The way the wind plays on the shoots and leaves of the bamboo, creates a soft soothing soundscape that calms and relaxes us.

Butterflies

Butterflies have a rich multi-faceted beauty that speaks very well to a healing garden. They are a visual delight, a helpful pollinator, and a symbol of metamorphosis and essential transformation. Brent knows just how to entice these spectacular little friends into sharing our healing space with us.

Arrangement and Flow

A healing garden takes into account much more than the mere substance of what is planted, but also the way in which it is placed. In a sort of garden "feng shui", intentional patterns and couplings create the atmosphere and energetic flow of the healing space to nurture a thriving balance of serenity and exhilaration.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are a welcome guest in any healing garden. In fact, the presence of a hummingbird brings very potent elements of peace and prosperity to your healing space. Brent adores these lovely little creatures, and he knows what plants will peak their interest and keep them coming back, visit after visit.

Bamboo

Brent's Organic Gardens is famous for creating spectacular Tropical Gardens full of exotic bamboo. I work with 20 varieties of clumping bamboo that love our sunny South Florida climate. These elegant plants bring mystique and tranquility to any garden...

By deploying a wide range of organic and permacultural landscape design techniques, Brent Knoll can transform any outdoor space into your own personal paradise!

Professional Installation

Now that you have your ideal design, let us carefully install your new landscape. Brent has many years of installation experience and a reliable experienced crew. Brent will personally oversee each installation to ensure a high quality job.

Expert Consultation

Brent has been beautifying landscapes in South Florida for 20 years. Walk and talk with Brent in your outdoor space so that he can show you how to turn your yard into a tropical paradise.

Garden Design

Once Brent explores your garden space and thoroughly explains and discusses your options with you, he will be able to create the ideal design for your desired landscape.