About

Lone Star Arboriculture owner Burton Knight has been shaping and caring for trees and landscapes in the Dallas area since earning a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Texas A&M University in 1995. In 2006, he formed his company. Service is personalized, and Knight is on site for all work done.

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A distinguished arborist, Knight has had a lifelong fascination with trees and plants. At age 14, he was the youngest member of the Austin Bonsai Society. His freshman year at Texas A&M he took a design class from the legendary John Fairey of Peckerwood Gardens in Hempstead.

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The class began a long-term mentorship with Fairey and renowned plantsman Carl Schoenfeld. While in college Knight worked at the Gardens and accompanied Fairey and Schoenfeld on plant-collecting trips to Mexico. 

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In 1999 Knight was awarded the inaugural preservation fellowship of the The Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving exceptional gardens and landscapes. During the fellowship, he worked to convert Peckerwood to a public, self-sustaining nonprofit. While there, he trained docents, wrote the visitation rules and protocols that allow the world to experience the garden without destroying it and participated in every aspect of running the garden while living on site for a year.

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Knight is most recently known for a highly publicized dispute with the Dallas Landmark Commission. After ripping out his lawn and xeriscaping in a historic district, the commission ordered him to restore turf grass and get rid of the cactuses and rock. Knight appealed the ruling and was allowed to keep his xeriscaping. The dispute took place during the 2013 legislative session, which passed a bill to prevent homeowners associations from restricting xeriscaping. 

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Knight is often the go-to expert arborist for the news media. He lives in Dallas and has a daughter, Talula Knight, and a wonderful dog named Bernie.