A flowery miracle in the desert

I always say that ‘anything is possible’ in Dubai and after this weekend, I believe it even more! No one would ever think that 75 million flowers can be seen in a Middle Eastern country… But they exist in full bloom at Dubai Miracle Garden.

With a 45AED entrance fee, I wondered what to expect from this place before we entered. As you walk into the park, the cloying scent of flowers hits you first before you see anything. It was an aroma evocative of summers past and it transported me back to my childhood spent reading in the garden. I liked the feeling. Dubai Miracle Garden exhibits more than 100 million different flowering plants spread over 70,000 square meters making it the largest natural flower garden in the world (and also, explains the scent!).

As we walked around, I realised that I have seen many things in this world. Many world wonders, many beautiful people, many appetising dishes and many architectural masterpieces. BUT I have NEVER- not even in my wildest dreams- see flowers displayed in so many different ways as I did at Miracle Garden. Not at all.

So lets take a look at what you can see at this desert miracle:

Butterflies made of flowers

A teddy bear made of flowers

A plane made of flowers

A Muslim lady wearing flowers

A castle made of flowers

Cottages made of flowers

Flower pots with a flowery design

A clock made of flowers

Swans made of flowers

A frog made of flowers

An arabian dhow boat decorated with flowers

Bloody hell. I did not it was possible to do so many interesting things with flowers!

In addition you can spot:

A giraffe

An ostrich

A kangaroo

Turtles

A parrot

The entire place is super cute and there is a lot of attention to detail in and around the park like this ice- cream bench…

And these umbrella arches over the restaurants of which there are an abundance!

I’m not a flower lover by any means ( I leave that to my mother) but I understand the importance they play in our lives. Its hard to tire of their sweet fragrance. Each one is a delicate bloom, no matter if it is a formal garden or a waste land. Their petals are delicate works of art and their hues are medicine for the soul. We bring flowers into the hospitals and graveyards, we send them to express our love, we plant them in our yards though they bear no edible fruits. This country spends thousands replacing them along the streets and as soon as they brown more are brought in. There is something about their beauty we need for our whole being, to be fully human; without the flowers it would only be concrete and that would be a terribly sad visual.

When we tired of flowers in all directions, we took a 3 minute walk to Dubai Butterfly Garden. For an additional 55AED per person you could apparently enter butterfly wonderland. I wondered about the validity of such claims.

There was no need to worry though because that’s exactly what it was- a utopia for butterfly enthusiasts, curious kiddies and anyone who wanted to see butterflies really. The visit begins with a perusal through a small museum with things constructed from butterflies. Did they kill these butterflies to create these pieces? It felt creepy. We zoomed through there.

But soon, you’re going through dome after dome of garden and fluttery butterflies are perched on your head, arm and on the fruit laid out for them to eat. Its an experience… not an exceptional one but an experience nonetheless.

Butterflies, seem to me, as the flowers of the air. Both arrive just for the warm weather, both are transient, both are delicate. The bright wings were like falling petals in the breeze- tremulous and fragile.

As Expat Lion held one, I watched the butterfly beat its wings up and down so sharply it looks like it’s under remote control, as if a tiny electrical current opens and shuts those vivid yellow blades.

All in all, Dubai Butterfly Garden and Dubai Miracle were an interesting way to spend 2-3 hours of our Saturday afternoon. Would I go back? No. Being neither a flower or butterfly enthusiast means that I simply went  for the novelty of it all. Or as my friends call the hashtag #doitfortheblog.

Information:

Timings: 9am till 9pm from Sunday to Thursday and from 9am till 11pm on Friday and Saturday.

Cost: The ticket price for adults is 45 AED and 30 AED for kids below 12 years old and kids below 2 years old can enter for free.