Friday 2 October 2015

Planning for the garden in the desert with #HDYGG

Well that's it, all work has officially stopped in the garden in Dubai. Nothing will be bought and nothing will be done until it cools down enough for manual labour. There will still be some planting of seedlings and cutting to be taken, watered and nurtured. I will still plant outside the front directly into the sand, but I'm leaving the rest of the garden for now, other than planning.


This is the space I'm working with, it's a blank canvas and will require a lot of work, it could also be fairly expensive, but we're going to be here for another 2 years minimum and I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

View from the garage door, the kitchen door is next to the red blanket. To the right is the maids room,  currently used for storage, in-between the maids room and the kitchen door is the study with fully opening sliding doors to access the garden. At the bottom are 2 storage rooms, which we use to store gardening equipment and tools in.


Looking back to the garage. The guest room and my sewing room are on the left and have full sliding doors to the outside. This is also the only grass we have on the property.


This is the back of the house, it's where I hang the washing as there is some shade netting.


 View of the back of the house towards the storage sheds


 The other side of the house, the wall on the right is our bedroom and there are full sliding doors to access outside although it's quite a large step.


   The patio area, the window on the front right is our bedroom, the next window is the conservatory door and the far set are the living room, both giving access directly outside.


This is an eyesore, it was installed by the previous tenants to wash their feet in before prayer. Behind it is a small shed which I'm planning on turning into house for Bob.


Looking back on the garden from the front wall.


View from the shower area, lounge windows on right, garage in front and road to the left, the sand pit where I plant is in front of the garage by the lights.


The dog house and shower, viewed from the sand pit.


I am open to all ideas for suggestions and help and would seriously welcome any of my social media friends to stay, if they're willing to muck in.



20 comments:

  1. I would love to come and help! Bit far sadly. Crassulas will grow in sand quite happily, especially jade, as will sansevieria, aeonium and pigface (Carpobrotus rossii) too. Also a lot of grevillea's will grow despite everything but you want the sand (coastal) varieties not the clay (mountain) varieties. I have no idea if any of these plants are available to you but they are my recommendations.
    As for the 'eyesore' I think you could make it really beautiful feature if you could get some really pretty climbers and maybe even a barrel of water lillies or goldfish on the go?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have a look in our local garden centre, thanks for the advise

      Delete
  2. I bet you must be desperate to get started on your garden plans. I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sure am, been doing a few things to get ready and will start properly end of november

      Delete
  3. It looks like you have lots of space for pots - although I suppose they could dry out very quickly in the heat of the day. Could you build some sort of pergola to train a trailing plant up? If I lived nearby I'd gladly pop in, however I am miles and miles away :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i have a plan for the trailing plants which involves rocks and rope, the trouble with pots is they have to be clay and unglazed otherwise the soil temp reaches 50c and cooks the plants

      Delete
  4. Oh wow, exciting times for you though. There is nothing better than taking a place that isn't great and really making it your own. We recently did our decking and before it was done, the area was totally unusable. We love it now and mainly because it has been a labour of love.x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm reluctant to spend too much money on it as we rent

      Delete
  5. Hi Suzanne, cultivating a garden must be difficult in Dubai with the heat and sandy soil. I love the look of your place on the outside and that shed looks like it could be a mansion for Bob.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dont be fooled we dont have any soil at all, it's just sand. will be repairing the wooden framing of the shed and turning it into Bob's palace now the weather is cooling and he can spend more time outside

      Delete
  6. Wow. I am fascinated to know how you will develop a garden in such a dry and hot climate. I think there is so much to be said for the joy of planning and preparation. To take it from nothing to something amazing will be wonderful. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got off to a good start following the municipalities planting schedule,

      Delete
  7. I'm wondering if any of the plants which grow on our beach, sand and stone, would be any good? I shall have a look in to what they are and let you know, perhaps one or two may work.
    I'm super impressed with what you have managed so far, and your perseverance, I'd have stomped off in a tantrum ages ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that would be great Amanda, I'm going away next week for a month and will start as soon as i return

      Delete
  8. Enjoy the planning - and I think Bob's going to be very happy!! #hdygg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm turning the room into a Prince's palace...lol

      Delete
  9. I can't wait to see what you do. I don't have any suggestions. I seem to be great at planting shade and damp loving plants but my sunny board always looks dry and uninteresting. I shall watch your progress with interest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, i've a good list ready now and the prices for plants are quite reasonable

      Delete
  10. Could you sink pots into the soil and fill them with rich compost and moisture retaining granules? Then if you mulched the sand around them with a dark mulch (cocoa shells maybe) you might reduce the loss of water to evaporation. And definitely investigate pants that thrive in your climate. I am not sure what your "winters" are like but they might be the time to try and grow veg. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. have sent you a tweet also, winter in Dubai is on average 21c, like Uk summers but very little rain, will be growing tomatoes and other veg that I'm currently researching

      Delete

ShareThis