Wednesday 24 January 2018

Creating a garden in the desert.

I've been gardening in Dubai for 3 years, growing a variety of things in the sand, from plants to fruit and vegetables from seed with varying successes. You can read more about my efforts at gardening and places I visit, in the Gardening tab by clicking here.

We moved house in December 2017 and all we had was a sand pit, patio and 2 steps down. Part of our rental agreement was to landscape the garden.



A couple of weeks after moving in and unpacking, I started paying attention to the neighbours gardens and I knocked on a few doors to ask if I could have a closer look. Everyone was keen to show me their designs, share their experiences and pass on contact numbers.

Once we'd settled on a contractor we were happy with I provided him with a simple design, agreed on a price, paid half up front for materials and he promised the job would be done in 5 days. 3 days later the work was complete and we were happy with it, so we opted to contract him to erect a fence as we were concerned that Bob may be able to jump the wall and to date we'd been unable to leave him unsupervised in the garden.


I explored the options for fencing, I wasn't keen with what the neighbours had erected, the full fence panels aren't actually permitted, the bamboo looks tacky as does the garden canes with artificial flowers and the other style of fencing wasn't that much cheaper than what we opted for.




Having priced up fence panels (there aren't many options in Dubai and they've very pricey) the contractor said he would make, paint and install them in a week and I'm pleased to say not only did he stick to price, design and deadline, but all the mess was cleaned up and all I had left to do was put the plants in we'd brought from the previous house and purchased from a local nursery.





The garden is finished now, plants are in, the grass is suffering a bit with Bob using it to pee on and the water pressure is low making watering a longer job than need be.



The cat has enjoyed her time in the garden on a lead with her new dog harness (she's a big cat).

13 comments:

  1. I like your fence choice as it let's in some light but still gives you privacy. #PoCoLo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the construction firm said maximum 90% coverage, so I think we've made the right choice, the plants will fill the gaps in

      Delete
  2. Ohh! Your garden looks fantastic! It has all came together so quickly. The fence was a great idea x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, it's one of the few things we've done here without any hassle

      Delete
  3. Your garden is beautiful! You did a great job and I love your lattice fence. They let in so much more light and air as well as allowing climbers to grow over them. Thanks for sharing! #pocolo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, we're really happy with it

      Delete
    2. I’m back to say thankyou for linking to the August #MyGloriousGardens linky. Hope to see you again with updates from your garden. X

      Delete
  4. Your garden and new fence looks lovely :) You have done a great job. #pocolo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you but i must say full credit goes to the landscaping team we paid

      Delete
  5. I love the fence and the cat looks happy! :) Thanks for sharing with #TriumphantTales, we'd love to see you back again on Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, the cat has stopped attacking us now she can go out

      Delete
  6. Congrats on your beautiful new garden! I love how the plants surround the grassy area. I hope you are able to enjoy it for a long time. Thank you for sharing on the August #MyGloriousGardens link party!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, will be back in Dubai on the weekend and will be getting to work on the garden right away

      Delete

ShareThis