Contemporary Garden Design in Dubai
Full Garden Design
A complete design service, creating refined, climate-intelligent gardens for private homes in Dubai.
Designing contemporary gardens that thrive in Dubai, creating beautiful outside spaces that offer shade, privacy and designed around your life.
Full Garden Design is a private commission in the truest sense: one experienced designer, one point of contact and one uncompromising standard, from the first conversation to the first time you eat outside in your new, transformed space. I take the time to understand how you live, design a garden shaped by your home, your lifestyle, your family and our climate and guide it from vision to reality. The result is a garden that becomes the finest room of your home, without the demands of creating it yourself.
Your involvement is entirely as you wish. Most of my clients come to me wanting one thing above all: to entrust their garden completely to me and to enjoy the result. It’s not unusual for clients to spend the summer abroad while their garden takes shape and return to find it finished.
“I just wanted to let you know how amazing the garden is looking. The garden itself, the lighting and the plants are stunning. We’re beyond thrilled with it and our friends are in awe. When the lights come on at night, the transformation is incredible. It’s even more beautiful than I imagined. Thank you so much.”
Jazmin - Arabian Ranches
Most gardens in Dubai are built before they’re understood.
Our climate is unforgiving of anything that hasn’t been thought through: materials that warp in the humidity, flowering plants that don’t survive the summer, an oversize pool that leaves nowhere to sit. It’s why so many homeowners here pay for their garden twice. Exceptional design is what prevents it - and it’s all I do.
Our services
Site visit and full site analysis
Design brief and lifestyle consultation
Concept design
Detailed design drawings
3D visuals (optional)
UAE-adapted planting design
Irrigation design
Garden lighting design
Styling service: furniture, planters, finishing touches
Recommendations of a trusted contractor for build
Introduction to a professional maintenance team
Reasons to work with me
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8 years of proven design experience in Dubai
I’m formally trained with eight years proven experience in Dubai. I graduated with distinction from London College of Garden Design at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and have designed more than 128 gardens across Dubai.
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Every element considered before we start building
I resolve every decision before anything is built. For example, where shade will fall, how you’ll use your space and how the garden sits alongside your home and community.
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UAE-adapted planting to ensure a thriving garden
I choose materials and plants that thrive here, not simply look good. I only use UAE-adapted planting, with interest created through texture and tones of green-on-green.
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Working with one point of contact to ensure success
I’m your single point of contact, from first conversation to final details. Every garden is a bespoke commission led by myself, rather than a rotating team. I work with a contractor I’ve trusted for years but can also work with your contractor if required.
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Designed to last; because I know what will work
I design gardens that endure and appeal as much to the next owner as you. Everything I do is built to last and designed to show your property at its very best: a garden to live in now and a genuine asset when you come to sell.
It begins with how you live
Gardens are designed around the way you live, not a pre-set template. It’s why I spend the time to understand how you and your family use the garden, how you entertain, whether the pool or the dining table matters more, what the space must do on a Tuesday evening as well as the weekend. All of it shapes the design and when you’ve been properly heard at the start, my design rarely misses.
I know how to make gardens thrive in the desert
Designing outdoors is a discipline of its own. I create every design with climate in mind - selecting materials, planting and construction methods that will endure the heat and humidity and continue to perform over time. My gardens are grounded in reality, not imported ideas that stylistically look great but will never work in our unique conditions. This is what it means to design a garden rather than simply build one.
The Garden Design Process
Every project starts with a conversation, giving us a chance to get to know each other and making sure we’re a good fit.
01 Introductory call
A complimentary conversation to understand your garden, your hopes and your timeline - and to make sure we’re the right fit for one another.
02 Site visit and brief
I visit your garden to take a detailed brief and carry out a site analysis. This visit is charged and will be followed up swiftly with a tailored design fee proposal.
03 Concept Design
I develop the design, layout, atmosphere, materials and flow and present it to you in person. One revision is included but rarely needed.
04 Detailed Design
The concept is refined into a complete set of design drawings including pool design, lighting and planting design, ready for the build to be priced and delivered exactly as intended. I also provide an optional styling service to complete your garden; furniture, pots and finishing touches.
05 The build
My trusted contractor can price and build the design. Prefer your own contractor? That’s fine, let’s discuss what’s possible.
06 The handover and beyond
Your finished garden, ready to be lived in and enjoyed with an introduction to a professional maintenance team who understand exactly how it should be cared for should you need it. I’ll also pop in from time to time to check to see how the garden is working for you and your family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions I’m asked the most, from process and timelines to budgets.
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A properly designed garden takes months, not weeks. It is a creative process and the result is a garden that works now and in the future. The design itself takes around eight to ten weeks when feedback comes promptly. The design process is much more enjoyable when creative momentum is maintained so I do prefer to work with clients able to set time aside to focus on giving design feedback when requested.
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No, I’m a garden designer and the distinction matters. I design your garden in full before anything is built, including the pool if needed, then a contractor (mine or yours) builds it. If you already have a design and simply need it priced, you need a contractor, not a designer.
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As little as you like. Once I’ve taken your brief and you've approved the concept, many clients step back entirely. I’ll involve you at the moments that matter and spare you the rest.
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A trusted and reliable contractor I have worked with for many years. They know how I design which means your garden gets built exactly as drawn. However I understand sometimes you have your own contractor and you’re free to use them. It would be great to know who they are in advance because outdoor construction is a specialist skill and if I don’t believe they can deliver your design, I will tell you honestly. In either case, design oversight is an optional addition to my design service. If you need this, I will attend the site regularly to make sure everything is built to my drawing and resolve anything that arises before it becomes a problem.
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My initial site visit is charged (AED550), because it’s a working visit rather than a discovery call. I carry out a site analysis, take your brief and follow up with a detailed fee proposal. As a guide for the project itself, a garden build in Dubai is typically 8-12% of the value of your villa, depending on final materials and whether you want a pool or not. You can expect my design fees for the Full Garden Design Service to be 6-10% of that build budget.
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Yes. They make the design far easier to picture before anything is built, making it easier for you to make the right decisions for your garden.
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No. Planting is the final layer of a designed garden. It can only succeed if the shade, irrigation and space for it were designed from the start. That’s why I offer it as part of the Full Garden Design and alongside the Late Stage Garden Intervention rather than separately.
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Often, yes. If a previous garden hasn’t lasted, or you’re mid-build and can see the space isn’t working, my Garden Design Intervention Service would be best, rather than a full design. It’s a more focussed piece of work: I assess what’s there, keep what’s worth keeping and resolve the rest into a garden that works. Find out more about Garden Design Intervention
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The creative standard may be similar but the process is not. A garden is designed around sun, heat, humidity and living things and it is built outdoors in our climate so the sequencing, timescales and materials follow a different logic and require specialist knowledge and experience. I’ll guide you through it but also ask that you put aside any previous experiences / pre-conceptions of working with an interior designer - we are two very different disciplines!
Commission your full garden design
I work with discerning clients who want an elegant, contemporary garden designed properly and understand that good design takes time. If that’s you, completing my enquiry form is the first step. It’s detailed by design to ensure we’re the right fit for one another.