Landscape design is a popular business nowadays. It takes a lot more consideration than simply tossing a few flowers and shrubs together in the area left over after finding the house. Clients have recently become more instrumental in the design of their environments. This is primarily due to our growing appreciation for the value of nature in our surroundings. Cultivating and maintaining varied plants in an area with high summer temperatures, limited rainfall, and high salt content in groundwater is quite a task if you consider it. Despite this, a climate-specific design process has been developed to address these issues. As a result, there are some lovely gardens in this bustling metropolis.
Beautiful landscape design
So, what exactly is landscape design in Dubai? With this blog post, we will help you understand the fundamentals of landscape design and maintenance in our particular environment and condition. We also consider long-term gardens that you can enjoy for many years.
How Will Your Landscape Design Serve You?
Landscape design starts with a design brief, much like any other procedure. This is a list of the client’s desired scenery features. This design brief helps in the planning of project procedures and outcomes as wanted by the client.
Purpose And Lifestyle
These two are strongly linked. The landscape brief provides an answer to the crucial issue, “What is the purpose of this?” In a different term, we want to understand what the garden’s principal goal is. A precise design brief will provide us with detailed information about a customer’s goals and desires, as well as their lifestyle and spending plan. Then we can create a landscape that is unique to the client. A landscape for a couple with kids, for example, will be significantly different from one for married clients with pets.
People with kids who are in college or who live away will have a different garden interest. They may wish to host more parties and socialize with friends or meet business associates to explore their garden. So, before making any recommendations, it’s critical to understand the garden’s function and work from the project plan and concept design stage.
What Is Your Budget for Your Landscape Design?
We’ll work with you to generate a budget after you’ve established the client brief. What level of satisfaction does the client have with this financial plan? Is there any room for improvisation? Clients frequently have no idea how much a villa landscape design will cost. It is our responsibility to provide them with a clear picture of the extra costs so that difficulties do not arise in the future. In fact, you can expect to pay AED 250 per square meter of the project area for a simple landscape design. This is for gardens with a limited number of features. For feature-rich gardens, the budget might be as high as AED 1200 per square meter. Pools, outdoor structures, feature walls, and water systems all add to the landscape design expense.
Landscape Design
Space Planning and Schematic Layout
These are taken directly from the design brief. Landscape design requires a great deal of area organization. It is concerned with the mobility of individuals and objects through the garden. It also takes into account a variety of circumstances depending on the client’s preferences. How many people can your garden accommodate? If you’re holding a party, how will people get about the garden? Is there enough seating for at least 15-20 people in your garden? What if you host larger gatherings with a larger number of people? You may build an adaptable design that accommodates larger groups of people if you consider these requirements while designing your garden. You could choose to integrate constructed benches or other adjustable seating alternatives. You won’t have to hire furniture every time you have additional people if you do it this way. You might also include casual perch locations around your water component, such as a wide ledge that doubles as a seat wall. Drawing a floor plan allows you to designate regions for separate tasks, such as resting places, dining areas, and seating areas. Use them for family enjoyment or adorn them to serve as party fun.
Entertainment Space
We specialize in space designing and organizing at Agroturf because we understand how important it is in making great gardens. We have a lot of expertise in incorporating the client’s wants and needs into a budget-friendly strategy.
Planning Regulations
We must also put into account, government rules when examining the plan. Your neighbourhood may have its own set of rules that must be incorporated into the layout. Pools, for example, must be at least 1.5 meters away from the villa’s perimeter and walls. Pergolas must also be at a minimum of 1 to 1.5 meters away from a boundary wall, though this varies by community. Some plants have been prohibited by the Dubai Municipality due to their invasive root systems. Many residential communities have forbidden the Conocarpus (Damas) tree, as well as the Ficus Microcarpa tree. Certain bamboo varieties are also prohibited due to their tendency for spreading. Likewise, certain large-root trees can only be planted if they are at least 3 meters away from any structures. Ergonomics, such as having enough width to walk pleasantly along a pathway, are also considered in layout and space design. To be capable of walking peacefully, a walkway should be 1.2–2 meters wide. As a result, knowing the rules of the authorities and society is critical. Your landscape plan will not be approved if your landscape design does not follow these standards. This will prove expensive, as well as cause your project to be delayed.
Presenting Landscape Design Concepts To Clients
Many of our customers aren’t particularly artistic. As a result, imagining what their gardens would look like is difficult for them. Design demonstrations are crucial since they are a method of expressing this idea to the client. Ideas can be presented in a variety of forms, including mood boards, 3D models, and drawings. When we start working on a landscape design, we decide on a presentation mode for the customer. We conduct all of our presentations in-house because Agroturf is a design-build firm. As a proposal, we provide the overall architectural arrangement.
Landscape Design Presentation
For components, we may use 3D designs and elevations, mood boards, and sample panels. This provides the client with a comprehensive view of what they will receive.
It’s also great for imagining the overall style of an outdoor place. This will guarantee that your landscape and building style complement each other nicely.
Outdoor Garden Space
Landscape Design
We also specialize in being open and honest about our prices. We develop thorough BOQs at Agroturf (Bill of Quantities).
These itemized BOQs disintegrate the budget into building items. This allows you to easily check how much you’re spending on each item.
Then you may determine what you definitely need and what you’d love to have. You can also plan to put off or fade out tasks that aren’t absolutely necessary at the time.
BOQs that are comprehensive provide a thorough vision of the expenditure plan. You can also include other product items later without causing any problems.
What Are the Key Features of a Villa Landscape Design?
Your lifestyle will determine which characteristics you want to include in your landscape design. The majority of individuals want to have various zones for distinct hobbies. Let’s take a peek at what’s hot in landscape concept and layout these days.
Pools In Your Landscape
A swimming pool is a matter of personal taste. It is an essential component in landscape design. A filter, infinity, or spillover pool are all options. Water components, fire characteristics, and bar seats can also be incorporated into the design.
Amazing Pool design
There are numerous aspects of the pool layout that can help to bring a landscape to life. Because pools are frequently the focal point of a landscape, they must appear opulent even when they aren’t in use. As a result, they serve as big water centrepieces.
Landscape Pool Design
Make a comprehensive assessment of your pool’s location. Place them where they can be viewed from critical sections of the house if you want them to become an appealing central focus. When having parties, you’ll want to make sure the pool also acts as an entertainment space. It should not be an impediment for guests to reach the entertainment space. As a result, you’ll need to leave ample room around the pool to relax and unwind.
Outdoor Dining Areas
Residents in Dubai enjoy eating outside as soon as the weather cools down in October. For around 6 months of the year, you can dine al fresco, underneath the moonlight.
An outdoor eating area is a great way to make your yard stand out. Because outdoor eating rooms are frequently an expansion of the kitchen, use your interiors as the influence for decorating outside. When dining outside, most individuals enjoy a more relaxed setting. As a result, outdoor dining places allow you to play around with different colors, designs, and fabrics to achieve the ideal impression.
Enclosed or open-air dining places are available. You can add ventilation, lights, and other aesthetic components to a pergola over the dining table.
As a result, you’ll be able to use your outside eating space well into the summer.
If you want the versatility of dining underneath the moonlight when the weather is nice but don’t want to be exposed to the sun, a collapsible canopy is an option.
During the colder weather, it can be removed, and when the sun is shining, it can be extended.
Outdoor Kitchens and Bars
Outdoor kitchens are becoming incredibly common in Dubai, particularly among those who enjoy barbecuing and cooking outside.
They can be customized to fit the space of your home. They might be as simple as a modest BBQ area or as complex as fully functional outdoor kitchens.
If you love unwinding with a few drinks, they can even have a lounge area. A dual-height bar table, freezer, alfresco mini-fridge, and power outlets can all be found in an outdoor kitchen. A sink, which could be a combined sink with the grill or a different sink, might also be included. If an outdoor kitchen is out of your price range but you still want to party outside, consider a buffet counter. When you engage a cuisine service to serve your guests at a party, this will come in handy.
Feature Walls
Within the yard, feature structures serve as supplementary focus points. These adaptable design pieces can be used in a variety of ways in the landscape.
Feature Walls as Focal Points
They can be used to highlight a certain feature, such as a water feature.
They can also be employed in the yard as a stand-alone feature. Using a striking color isn’t the only way to create a feature wall.
To spice up an average section of the yard, you may absolutely explore with fabrics, patterns, and brightness.
Using Feature Walls to Enhance Views
Views are typically enhanced with feature walls. A feature wall could be the initial item visitors notice when they walk through the door if your property is constructed to provide a clear view from the front door to the backyard. In the side gardens, use feature walls in the same way. These are sometimes difficult to design since no one wants to invest heavily in a room that is mostly used for movement. If you have wide sitting or dining hall windows that spill out onto your side yard, you could utilize feature walls there.
Such landscapes are crucial to consider because they may be appreciated all year long, regardless of the time. Regardless of the season, the perspective should make you want to close your shades and appreciate the vista outside the home.
Creating Outdoor Rooms
Making outside ‘rooms’ in the yard is a wonderful technique to divide a vast garden into natural areas. This is something that features walls may help with. A semi-private eating nook is also a stylish feature wall which can be constructed of wood and metal. Its open form offers a sense of detachment without enclosing the area. The focal wall can also be adorned with lanterns and flowers, making the environment feel warm and comforting.
You might also go for a green wall that matches the surrounding environment. They give the landscape a sense of flair, so you’re not simply staring at the flora.
Pathways
Pathways lead you to your desired location in the yard. They may not be the most crucial part of your landscape architecture, but they are unavoidable.
Pathways can help stabilize a garden’s color scheme by serving as a contrast to exuberant vegetation. For ease of access, keep walkways at least 1.2-2 meters wide.
They are required to guarantee that the garden is well-circulated. Pathways with unique layouts also encourage you to investigate and enjoy your yard.
Enhancing Your Pathways
Since they lead to the front door, entrance walkways are an important visual aspect of front yard design. Entrance walks that are well-planned and constructed can have a big aesthetic appeal. A walkway may improve the overall appeal of your garden in a gentle way if you use the right elements and lighting. Additional components can be added to a pathway to add appeal. Figural planting, garden figures, garden decorations, water elements, and seating pieces are just a few examples.
Materials For Your Pathway
Before selecting materials, think about the aim of your paths. Your landscape’s attitude and design will also influence the materials you use. Solid, somewhat porous, or entirely porous pathways are all options. A continuous walkway is your best bet if you entertain frequently. When wearing pointed shoes, navigating paving slabs with gravel or planted joints is difficult. If you want to be able to move furniture around, broken pavement isn’t the best option. They can also be a safety hazard, especially in the evening. A route with gaps, on the other hand, can offer relief from enormous stretches of pavement. They also allow for greater natural runoff and are less likely to crack than a huge pedestrian walkway.
Water Features
One of the most desirable aspects of the environment is water. It is relaxing because it provides a direct link to nature.
If a swimming pool is out of your price range or you don’t have the space, consider water features. These are less expensive and can be customized to fit your preferences.
Water features can be designed to look natural, realistic, futuristic, or sleek. It all hinges on the mood and appearance you want to achieve.
It’s critical to consider the demands of the customers, the garden’s design, and the water feature’s standard operating procedures. This guarantees that the setup is both functional and attractive.
Water features can be strategically positioned to create a central focus or to enrich a plain landscape.
To add elegance to yards, Agroturf has devised a range of bubblers, cascading water elements, and water walls.
In the garden, gentle bubbling waterfalls are ideal for relaxing nooks and hidden places. On scorching days, they offer much comfort by moistening the air.
Water walls may add a touch of magic to your landscape by giving a sense of surprise. On a vertical plane, they resemble a flowing waterfall. They can collapse into a pond or a small water stream. Water walls are a terrific method to create seclusion in your yard by separating one area from the next.
Landscape Lighting
The landscape design includes a lot of brightness. It improves visibility at night and serves as a vital safety element.
Illumination can be utilized to highlight paths, water attractions, vegetation, and water barriers throughout the landscape. A simple landscape piece may be brought to life with creative lighting.
There are numerous options for lighting your landscape. Ground lights in paths, step lamps, and guiding lights for trees and shrubs are just a few methods to improve your garden’s illumination.
The use of lighting in the garden can call attention to a certain central focus. It could be a statue, a water highlight, or a feature wall. A succession of modest stone-clad planter boxes and platforms lighted with directional light exposure and hidden LED strip lamps is a good idea. The illumination brings the nearby elements to life. It entices you to take a stroll along the pathway and further enjoy the yard. Lounge areas, food courts, and barbeques can all benefit from spotlights and lamps set on canopy posts. At night, a well-lit space will be visible from the house. The guests can enjoy your relaxing atmosphere at all hours of the day and night.
Keep in mind that the residence will be illuminated as well while planning your lighting setup. Some of this light will be reflected in the scenery. Keep the lights to a minimum. Consider your security and draw attention to what you want to observe. Over-lighting your yard can drastically change the ambience. A garden that is over-lit can be unsettling and aesthetically overwhelming. It can also let light into the house and cause annoyance to the neighbours. Gently place your lighting fixtures to reduce glare, tilt them away from the home and use lights with glare screens.
Materials In the Landscape
A well-balanced garden’s aesthetic components achieve a balance between hard and soft parts. Hardscape stones are crucial to the overall appearance of your garden. Based on the manufacturer and style you want to achieve; you can mix and match materials. Stone has always been a popular material for hardscaped floors. Outdoor components such as limestone, sandstone, or travertine with flamed granite edges were trendy.
Contemporary gardens, on the other hand, explore with innovative materials. In today’s gardens, ceramic tiles are highly fashionable. They require little upkeep. They are typically 2cm thick and come in a wide range of styles and colours. Ceramic tile patterns are so adaptable that they can mimic the appearance of concrete, wood, or stone for a tenth of the price. Corten steel is a newer product that is becoming more popular. It has a rich, natural appearance that is enhanced by the neighbouring greenery.
Sustainable Landscape Design
What makes a good landscape design?
The fundamental problem of longevity must be addressed in good landscape plans. Although this term is commonly used in the building industry nowadays, its meaning is not always apparent. Sustainable landscapes, in my opinion, bring joy to our customers because they are simple to manage, long-lasting, and do not require a major makeover every few decades. As a result, they are also cost-effective. You can still improve or alter the appearance of your garden by changing some of the plants, but the garden’s base is still preserved. Let’s take a closer look at each part to see how you may make your yard healthier and more long-lasting.
Planting
How sustainable are the plants in your garden?
Going green doesn’t imply you have to limit yourself to standard procedure. You may have a lush, tropical look while yet being environmentally friendly. Plants that require similar amounts of light and water should be placed together. This simplifies the irrigation process and cuts down on water waste. Perennials are a good choice for your garden. These plants live for a long time and are not affected by the weather like seasonals are. In your yard, you can have a few different seasonals when you desire bold splashes of colour. However, perennial plants and shrubs should form the foundation of the landscape. You might also use synthetic grass in some sections and genuine grass in others. Synthetic turf is toxin-free, UV resistant, and ideal for pet-friendly households. It also cuts down on the high-water expenditures that come with watering genuine grass. Make a clear distinction between cultivated and grassed sections for incredibly simple landscapes. The requirement to continuously mow or pull roots that have grown into undefined grass patches is reduced as a result. Decorate your pots with gravel or mulch for a complete look and to decrease moisture loss from the topsoil.
Using Sustainable Materials
Because hardscape is such an important aspect of most landscapes, choosing products that are appropriate for Dubai’s climate can have a significant effect on long-term garden sustainability. Several customers in Dubai are going for compound woods as part of their landscaping. WPC, also known as Sherwood, is ideal for decking in Dubai since it comes with a 10-year guarantee and is fade-proof. They don’t require staining every year and retain less heat as well. This means that these floors can be walked barefoot. Composite wood can also be used to construct pergolas. Wrap I-beams with genuine wood if you really want to go for the solid wood look. This prevents thicker wood panes from warping and ensures a long-lasting pergola framework.
Use wood that has been harvested from environmentally friendly woodlands. Wood is the only environmentally friendly building material, with a lower environmental impact than cement or metal. Porous paths, as we already discussed previously, are another alternative for sustainable gardens. They enable water to infiltrate back into the earth and reduce stream or surface overflow. This helps to recharge the groundwater level and lowers drying in your garden.
Landscape Lighting
Lighting is required for all sceneries to be functioning after daytime hours. As a result, the sort of illumination you select might have a significant effect on your garden’s long-term viability. Your outdoor lighting should fulfil two basic requirements: the fixture should be built to keep moisture away from the bulb, and the quantity of warmth created should be kept to a minimum. If these criteria are not met, your fittings will quickly become obsolete, and you will have to replace them frequently. As a result, while plastic fittings are less expensive, they are not optimal. The majority of modern outdoor fixtures are built of metal, with brass or aluminium commonly used in the fixture’s body. These metals are both biodegradable and reusable. To keep aluminium lamps from corroding, they’ll need to be polished. When it comes to lighting types, LED lights outshine the competition. They are ideal for outdoor lighting since they are more eco-friendly and consume less electricity. Because halogen lights produce a lot of radiation and need to be changed often, they are soon getting outdated.
Agroturf – Dubai’s Leading Villa Landscaping and Garden Design Company
All of Agroturf’s exterior landscapes incorporate these distinct aspects of long-term planning.
We take our best efforts in planning how visitors will move through and interact with your garden. Our garden ideas are always adaptable, so you may utilize them to host guests or simply relax with the family.
We consider how you plan to use the area and make sure there is enough seating. As a result, you may make proper utilization of your garden to enjoy socializing.
Above all, we consider your habits, wants, and expenditure plan to incorporate amenities that will aid in the creation of a long-lasting, comfortable outdoor environment that is as attractive as your indoor setting.
To organize an initial appointment, kindly feel free to contact a representative of our landscape design staff. You are only a phone call away from having your fantasy garden!
