How to make your outdoor space special
Why landscape?
- Aesthetic value
- Value added to property
- Privacy
- Extension of the home
- Recreation and entertainment space
- Full use of the property
- Individuality
Priorities
What issues or concerns need to be addressed first?
- Stabilisation — stop the sand blowing around
- Long term infrastructure — electrical and water conduits to areas of the garden that may become inaccessible after a period of time
- Hard elements and structures — do all the dirty work first! Large earth moving equipment may be required
- Screening/ privacy and shade — plants grow quickly, but still need time to acclimatise and mature
Options
- Do-it-yourself
Self explanatory, if you have a creative flair and sufficient technical skill, this can be an extremely rewarding option. There are plenty of gardening and landscaping books available locally. Be warned though: use the ideas for inspiration from the books. The plant selection and some of the materials will not be available in the local market — improvise.
- Landscape contractor
If you have a deadline to meet or are too busy to do the job yourself then call in a landscape planner, architect or consultant. The work can then either be contracted or sub-contracted.
- Combination
You may feel that you would like to do some of the work yourself. A combination of DIY (do-it-yourself) and consultancy may be an option. You can purchase design and specifications from a contractor and then implement all or part of the work yourself. You may want to leave all the heavy work to a contractor.
Selecting a contractor
How do you select and evaluate the landscape contractor?
- Reputation/ references
- Legal requirements — check that the company is registered and that it has the necessary permits and certificates like work permits (are the staff legally employed?); check licences (does the company have a valid trade license?); ask for insurance certificates (what happens if they drop a three tonne palm on the roof of my house?)
- Quotations — shop around
- Quality of work
- Reliability and follow up
How do you decide on the budget for landscaping?
These are variable and are dependent on:
- The quality of the materials being used — don't compare a Mini with a Porsche
- The difficulty level of the site — some sites have topographical, logistical or access factors that may influence the cost of delivery of the product
- The availability of the product in the market — basic supply and demand situation
- The size and infrastructure of the company performing the installation — a large concern may have at its disposal heavy equipment such as a crane, whereas a smaller concern must hire one.
Some practical tips
These are some odds and ends that a few of us would have run across while installing and maintaining gardens over the past few months.
- Be realistic about what you expect. Cherry trees and daffodils don't grow in the UAE. You are not going to have an English Country Garden in the middle of Dubai. Most of the gardening publications in the UAE are Australian, European or American in origin. Use the concepts or ideas from these, but do not expect to find the same materials (plant or hardware) in the local market. Adapt the ideas to fit local conditions and locally available products.
- Plan. An architect does not decide to construct a building without proper plans. Make provision for future services or development of the garden — install additional conduits to points in the garden which you think you may develop at a later stage. It is far cheaper to spend a few extra dirhams on this than to have to pay to have your driveway dug up to lay an electrical or water connection. Conduiting also allows for easier maintenance on services without having to excavate the entire garden.
- All electrical work must be done by a certified contractor. Unearthed electrical points, shallow unprotected cables and poorly insulated connections are a recipe for disaster. Cables that need to run through the garden must be armoured. The cables need to be laid at the correct depth — well below the reach of a spade or fork. Indicator tape is then placed on top of the cable prior to burying; this will ensure adequate warning to someone who may excavate the area at a later stage. Plug points must be earthed, and water proofed. It does rain here from time to time.
- Check that the capacity of your water tank is sufficient to service both domestic and garden needs, or add another one. This can also act as a buffer should the water supply be temporarily disrupted.
- Topography. It doesn't rain much, but when it does… don't slope the garden down to your back door or you might find your kitchen under two inches of water. If you put in a sunken entertainment area ensure there is drainage built into it.
- Swimming pools. If you have a chlorinated pool, don't back-wash the filter onto the lawn. Chlorine and plants are not the best of friends.
- Roof gardens. These are attractive, but most buildings are not specifically designed to carry the additional weight of damp or wet soil.
— Courtesy Dubai Garden Centre
