Knoll Gardens - Specialist Grower of Grasses and Perennials

The Knoll Team

The award winning show garden and nursery is known nationally and internationally for its expertise in ornamental grasses, though many other plants are grown including perennials and elm trees

Knoll is staffed by a dedicated team headed by owner, Neil Lucas who has spent most of his life working with plants and gardens.

Neil is a passionate plantsman and has several gold medals to his name including six consecutive Golds at Chelsea for his grasses.

Neils passion for plants may well be in his genes. His grandfather was heavily involved with the Delphinium society and having accompanied him to many national shows Neil couldn’t wait to start exhibiting in his own right.

Neil Lucas

In addition to travelling, especially in the USA, in search of new plants and ideas, Neil is also an accomplished and enthusiastic writer and speaker who runs regular masterclasses on his grass specialism from the gardens at Knoll, as well as lecturing both in the UK and overseas.

Neils parents, John and Janet , while now retired from the business, still form the core of the essential Chelsea Flower Show sales team as well as helping out at other shows and events.

		Ross joined Knoll direct from school. His knowledge and enthusiasm for our range of plants, along with his undoubted expertise, means that he was the natural choice to manage the nursery and mail order operation.
Ross

Trevor has recently re-joined us as Head Gardener, responsible for the care and upkeep of the gardens.

Trevor has worked with us previously both on the nursery and in the garden and so is ideally placed to take on this new role.

Although maintaining the garden will take a fair amount of his time, new projects in the garden are an important part of his role.

Trevor

Pat (left) heads our ‘front of house’ team, who along with Angela (below right) and Daphne (below left) are the people most likely to help you if you visit the nursery, or talk to us on the phone.

Apart from helping customers, their varied duties include some production, preparation of mail order, weeding, watering and stocking the sales area.

Angela is also mainly responsible for the organisation of our seed range.

Pat

Daphne and Angela

Our maintenence department is actually only one man, but Gary (on the right) copes with enough to be a whole department. Luke (on the left), is training to be a gardener, so spends much of his time in the garden but helps Gary and also the nursery staff whenever and wherever he is needed.
		Luke and Gary

		Nick has his own landscape and garden maintenance business ‘Elements’ serving customers in the local area. So while not a full member of the Knoll team as such he does find some time to help out with larger landscape jobs and other occasional tasks like hedge cutting or mulching.
Nick


We are fortunate to have several volunteers who kindly give of their time to help out either in the gardens or on the nursery. Our thanks in particular to Sarah (on the right), Thelma and Brenda.
		Sarah