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Updated: May 2026
The handover garden was just compacted sand and a row of struggling acacias. We moved into Harmony in late autumn, and by the second weekend the kids were asking when the grass was coming. I'd assumed I'd plant a few shrubs and call it done. Three weekends, one heat-cracked hose, and a very sad lavender later, I called a real landscaper. If you're staring at the same blank plot, this is the post I wish I'd had.
Neighbor's Tip
- Decide first: full design (hardscape + soft) or just soft landscaping plus maintenance. The price gap is huge.
- Pick drought-tolerant plants before you pick "pretty" ones. TAG hits 45°C in August.
- Irrigation matters more than the plants. A bad drip line will kill a perfect palette in one week.
Most Harmony and Aura Gardens plots come with 80 to 200 m² of garden plus a driveway strip, and Elan and Aura plots vary across that range too. Same community, very different gardens depending on plot size and orientation.
The conditions are consistent across all of it though. Summer surface temps push past 45°C, the soil is essentially sand with almost no organic matter, and district irrigation pressure dips in peak evening hours when half the community is watering at once.
That's why the same "instant garden" package that works in Arabian Ranches sometimes flops here. The plants need to handle heat and inconsistent water pressure, and the irrigation system has to be designed around that, not bolted on at the end.
Oasis Garden Designs is the one most of my Harmony neighbors use when they want a beautiful, livable garden without ripping up hardscape. Their lane is soft landscaping: planting plans, lawn (real or artificial), beds, hedging, and the irrigation that keeps it alive. They're climate-friendly by default, which around here just means they won't try to sell you English roses.
Best for: Handover gardens that already have tiles and a boundary wall. You want plants, lawn, lighting, and a working drip system, not a full rebuild.
Scope:
What You'll Pay (AED, indicative):
They'll usually do a free site visit within a few days, then send a planting plan and quote.
Neighbor verdict: Calm, listens to what the kids will actually do in the garden (read: trample), and doesn't oversell hardscape you don't need. If your villa already has the bones, start here.
Blue Oak Contracting & Design is the call when the garden needs more than plants. Think pergolas, outdoor kitchens, a plunge pool tucked into the side return, retaining walls in Serenity, or tying the garden into a pool fit-out. They're a contractor first, with design in-house, so the same team handles drawings, permits, build, and planting.
Best for: Full villa garden design on larger Harmony or Aura plots, or any project where you also want a pool, deck, or covered seating built.
Scope:
What You'll Pay (AED, indicative):
They typically do a paid concept stage before committing to build, which keeps everyone honest.
Neighbor verdict: A bigger crew with a bigger scope. If you've got a Serenity plot or you want the garden, pool, and outdoor kitchen handled by one team, this is the cleaner path than juggling three contractors.
Good to Know Exterior Space Landscape is physically based inside Harmony 1, so you'll see their vans around. Flagging the sighting before you wonder.
You don't need 40 species. You need 10 that survive August. This palette is what you'll see again and again in well-aged TAG gardens, because it works.
Skip lavender, hydrangea, English roses, and most ferns. They'll look great for six weeks and surrender by June.
Numbers below are ranges neighbors have mentioned in WhatsApp threads. Your plot size, finish level, and whether you need permits will shift things, but this is a sane starting point.
| Line item | Small garden (~100 m²) | Larger garden (~600 m²) |
|---|---|---|
| Design fee | 3,000 to 8,000 | 10,000 to 25,000 |
| Soft landscape (plants, lawn, mulch) | 12,000 to 25,000 | 45,000 to 120,000 |
| Hardscape (paving, pergola, deck) | 15,000 to 40,000 | 60,000 to 200,000+ |
| Irrigation system | 4,000 to 10,000 | 12,000 to 30,000 |
| Outdoor lighting | 3,000 to 9,000 | 10,000 to 30,000 |
What You'll Pay A clean, livable Harmony garden, lawn, beds, decent irrigation, basic lighting, lands around 35,000 to 60,000 AED all-in. Anything under 20,000 is plants only and you'll feel it within a year.
If you're also thinking about pool maintenance in your villa garden or EV charging in your outdoor space, it's worth scoping those at the same time. Trenching twice is how budgets blow up.
Once the garden is in, you've got a choice. A monthly maintenance contract for a 4-bed runs 800 to 1,800 AED and covers weekly visits, mowing, pruning, fertilising, pest checks, and irrigation tweaks. That's the quiet path. The garden just stays good.
Ad-hoc works if you genuinely garden as a hobby and only want help with the heavy stuff: hedge cuts, palm trimming twice a year, irrigation servicing before summer. Expect 600 to 1,500 AED per visit depending on scope. The risk is that one missed irrigation issue in July can cost you a whole bed of plants, which is more expensive than a year of maintenance.
Most TAG neighbors I know land on monthly maintenance after their first summer. The math just works out.
Can I have a real lawn in TAG? Yes, but be honest about water and effort. A natural lawn in a Harmony back garden needs daily summer watering, monthly fertilising, and reseeding patches twice a year. Premium artificial turf has gotten very good and most families with young kids end up there. Real lawn is best in shaded plots or where you genuinely use it daily.
How long does design and install take? Soft landscaping only is usually 2 to 4 weeks from quote to finished garden. Full design with hardscape, pergolas, or pool integration is 8 to 16 weeks, longer if community permits are needed. Start the conversation before summer, because June to September is brutal for both crews and plants.
What's the maintenance window I should expect from handover? Plan for the first 12 weeks to be the settle-in period: irrigation tuning, replacing any plants that don't take, soil top-ups. Most reputable landscapers include a warranty period of 60 to 90 days. After that, you transition to a monthly plan or ad-hoc.
Do I need a permit for hardscaping? For planting, lawn, and basic irrigation, no. For pergolas, walls over a certain height, pools, or anything that changes the villa footprint, yes, you'll need community NOC and sometimes Dubai Municipality approval. A full-scope contractor like Blue Oak handles this; a soft-landscape-only crew won't.
If you want a calm, plant-and-lawn garden that just works, start with Oasis and book a site visit. If you're planning a bigger project — pool, pergola, full villa garden — talk to Blue Oak about a paid concept stage first. Either way, get the irrigation right before you fall in love with a plant list.
For everything else around the villa, here's all home services in Tilal Al Ghaf in one guide.
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