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Deciding on what kind of landscaping or gardening work you want done in the UAE does present some challenges from the climate, the investment required, and the time that it can to get some work done. You may also ask yourself why you should put so much money into landscaping when you either don’t own your villa or you can enjoy your outdoor space only for half the year.

Our answer: of course it’s worth it!

To help you in making the decision, we’ve done our homework for you and compiled some common landscaping requests and solutions we get here in the UAE.

Let’s start with the grass.
We’ve spoke to landscapers across the country to learn which types of grass – whether artificial or natural – are suitable for the harsh UAE climate and can withstand whatever the weather throws at it.

The first obvious choice to make is if you want natural or artificial grass, both have their own inherent pros and cons. Natural is, of course, much more attractive but requires a lot of maintenance. Artificial has a high initial cost for installation but is relatively easy to maintain and has a long ‘shelf-life’ so-to-speak.

Common natural grass types in the UAE
Gulf: Typically has bigger leaves than other types. Pros: Grows quickly, cheaper than other options. Cons: You need to mow it every 15 days and the color gets lighter with every cut.

Bermuda: Characterized by small leaves and its density, almost resembling a carpet. Pros: Attractiveness and maintenance as you only need to move it once a month and it needs less pesticide. Cons: price.

Artificial grass
There are multiple things to look for if you go for for artificial turf:

Pile height: The height from bottom to top of the of the blades.

Gauge: Grass is formed by stitching together the individual blades of grass in rows on a backing at pre-set widths. Gauge is the distance or width between those rows. Generally, a smaller gauge means a heavier artificial lawn which is considered higher quality.

Stitch rate: The density of the grass. The higher the stitch rate, the heavier and higher quality the grass.

DTEX: It stands for Decitex, the measuring unit for yarn; which is 1 gram per 10,000 meters.

Before making a decision, make sure you ask for the landscaper for samples. Interesting fact - there is a type of artificial grass sold in the UAE that is FIFA-approved; so ask for it if it makes a difference to you.

Then with the irrigation system.
Even if you opt for artificial grass, you still may have trees, flowers, and shrubs in your yard, which, of course, would require some sort of irrigation system.

The system has to be installed before the turf is laid down. Usually, a full irrigation system has different components that are packaged together for you, including a controller, sprinklers, drippers, drip tubes, fittings, stakes, valves and all consumables. Depending on your requirements and your pre-existing layout, you may need to invest in a pump and/or water tank. The most common brand in the UAE for your irrigation system controller is Hunter, while sprinklers are commonly RainBird (also a global leader).

Now how about a splash of color?
You need plants that both attractive and drought-resident (i.e. don’t need much water). The following are the most common outdoors plants used in gardens and yards all over the UAE; no need for an explanation for them – we can let the images speak for themselves. Just know that all of them generally grow fast and don’t need much water to grow, so they are perfect for our climate. Just ask your landscaping company about costs and maintenance requirements for the trees and plants in our list:

Date palm	Frangipani
Damas tree	Acacia
Hibiscus	Bougainvillea
Aloe	Yellow trumpet flower