Select the Right Plants for your Patch of Garden
There are some beautiful and amazing plants available in the UAE and used correctly, every garden can have its own signature look.
Plant selection here in the UAE can be slightly tricky at times. Being such a multicultural country it is often difficult to ask for the correct plant name, being that it is possible to have three different names for one plant. Some nursery staff use common labels from their home country, others use ones from this region and sometimes, but rarely, botanical and Latin names are used.
Generally, the majority of shrubs used in our private gardens are exotic species. The list of indigenous plants to the UAE is rather short and quite a few of these are unusable in a private garden. Due to the extreme weather conditions in the region the list of exotic plants that survive here is rather short too.
Some plants are being used against correct horticultural practices for the individual species. This seems to be due to the lack of an extensive selection of plants available as well as education across the horticultural industry.
Because of these issues research is the key to making the right selection. There are some beautiful and amazing plants available in the UAE and used correctly, and with some thought and research, every garden can have its own signature look. I find there are some plants that have become quite standard in most gardens, but the way they are arranged and the design of the rest of the plant list sets each apart. Ground covers such as Rhoeo discolour and setcreasea purpurea, feature plants such as Zamia furfuraceae and Cycas revoluta and architectural plants such as Agave attenuata, Furcraea species and Adenium obesum all make regular appearances in gardens that I design.
There are also some stunning palm species that grow very well here. Obviously the Phoenix dactylifera (date palm), and the Washingtonia robusta is a slightly smaller palm that is a beautiful feature in any garden. Latania lontaroides (Red Lantern Palm) is a smaller palm that makes a great feature plant in a courtyard or highly visible area of a garden.
There are some great flowers and shrubs that work well here and stand the test of summers heat and humidity. With some research and careful planning it is possible to make a stunning garden out of what is available.
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