Dubai Miracle Garden
A flower garden that opened on Valentine's Day. Dubai Miracle Garden opened on Valentine's Day 2013 and fills the desert with flower sculptures. What to see and when to go as a couple.
Flower arches at Dubai Miracle Garden: Balou46, CC BY-SA 4.0
Flowers in the desert
Dubai Miracle Garden is proof that romance can bloom anywhere. The garden opened on Valentine's Day 2013 in the Dubailand district and covers more than 72,000 square meters, filled with flowers shaped into arches, hearts, walkways and giant sculptures.
Building a garden like this in the desert takes planning. The displays are planted fresh for each season and watered carefully, and the garden opens in the cooler months, when flowers can survive the climate.
What you will see
Visitors walk under tunnels of colour, past heart-shaped arches and along paths lined with umbrellas and floral figures. Many displays change from season to season, so returning visitors usually find something new.
In 2015 the garden won a Garden Tourism Award for new garden experiences, a sign of how quickly it became one of Dubai's best-known attractions.
Tips for a romantic visit
Go late in the afternoon, when the light is soft and the heat has eased, and stay into the evening. Comfortable shoes help, because the paths are long. Bring a camera: the heart arches are made for couple photos.
Opening dates change every year, so check the official website for the current season before planning your trip.
A garden that keeps changing
Part of the fun of the Miracle Garden is that it never looks exactly the same twice. Designers rework the displays between seasons, so the shapes, colours and themes you see on one visit may be replaced on the next. Some displays are huge, built over metal frames that are then covered in living plants.
The garden also sits next to the Dubai Butterfly Garden, home to thousands of butterflies in climate-controlled domes. Visiting both makes a gentle, colourful day out that suits couples, families and anyone who loves photography.
Because the garden depends on cooler weather, it closes during the hottest part of the year. Its reopening each autumn is something many Dubai residents look forward to, a sign that the outdoor season has started.
- Flower arches at Dubai Miracle Garden: Balou46, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The umbrella path: Ashwin Geet Dsa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Flowers everywhere: Dayneferrera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Text written by Hala Habibi.
