You’re wading through the middle of the harsh Dubai desert. The sun is beating down on you and sand is surrounding you on all sides. But what is this? Suddenly you see a lush and whimsical garden, filled with houses and butterflies and castles and wonder. Is this a mirage? Surprisingly, it isn’t. Is it a miracle? In a way, yes. You’ve made it to the Dubai Miracle Garden.
The Dubai Miracle Garden is located in Dubai’s Al Barsha South and it’s the largest flower garden in the world. It’s estimated to be around 72,000 square meters (775,000 square feet) in size- every inch covered in complex floral masterpieces.
The garden showcases roughly 100 million blooming flowers and plants so, as you can imagine, that takes a lot of upkeep. Roughly 200 gardeners are employed year round to keep these flowers looking pristine.
Not only does this garden have the largest collection of flowers in the world, but it also displays the maximum number of floral themes of any other location worldwide. All their flowers are arranged in imaginative and creative themes like The Heart’s Passage, a Teddy Bear, a Giant Tortoise- and many more.
In 2016 they won the Guinness World Record place for the largest flower arrangement/structure. They won for their piece in the shape of the Emirates Airbus, which consists of roughly 6 million flowers when in full bloom.
Earlier this year they broke another record by building a huge floral Mickey Mouse. This structure now holds the Guinness World Record for tallest supported topiary structure. The record-breaking creation is 18 meters tall and weighs approximately 35 tons. It consists of roughly 100,000 plants and flowers such as the white petunia, red petunia, white geranium, yellow viola, zinnia marigold, and green alternanthera.
Speaking of, this garden is actually home to 120 different varieties of flowers. Their displays and themes are constantly evolving and changing, they will have a seasonal renovation of themes every year from May to October. They typically close the outdoor attractions all-together during the summer months given the temperatures average around 104 degrees Fahrenheit in this area. Realistically, plants can’t grow well in that much heat.
The addition of the Dubai Butterfly Garden to this exhibition in 2015 has made it all the more dream-like. The Butterfly Garden is the world’s largest indoor butterfly garden and it houses more than 15,000 butterflies.
Given the lush and beautiful nature of the facility, it can be hard to believe that this structure is able to exist in the middle of a desert. The facility not only manages to maintain this beautiful space but also uses a unique sub-surface irrigation system that recycles water via drip irrigation while simultaneously avoiding evaporation. This ends up saving up to 75% on water and energy.
Here at TWT, we talk a lot about the health and spiritual benefits of nature and plants. Well, the Dubai Miracle Garden is truly taking this to a whole new level. This lush and colorful oasis is bringing life and beauty to the middle of a barren wasteland. The Dubai Miracle Garden truly does feel like just that- a miracle.
