The Desert Runs In Colors: Dubai Miracle Garden Is Too Beautiful to Be True
On the surface, the Dubai Flower Garden – or, by its official name, the Dubai Miracle Garden – doesn’t sound like an attraction for horror fans. What does a garden with over 150 million colorful flowers, forming spectacular shapes (including children’s figures, but not icons from the world of horror), have to do with our website? In addition, we are not aware of any ghost stories, disasters, or myths associated with this place, at least not yet.
And yet, with a bit of imagination and too many horror films in my resume, I managed to find creepy sides, strange displays, and interesting facts about the Dubai Miracle Garden. The common denominator is that most people who come there to see the beauty of nature (at least when they invest a lot of thought and money in it), miss out, which is a shame. Let’s explore one of Dubai’s most intriguing and colorful attractions to see if we can classify it as a scary nature experience.
What Is The Dubai Miracle Garden?
First of all, Dubai Miracle Garden is located in an astounding area, where we would not expect to find seasonal natural blooms: busy Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, located in the heart of the desert. But thanks to the wonders of financial investment and an impressive vision, it managed to take shape. If you will, the garden is another display of human resources over nature that borders on madness.
With millions of colorful flowers blooming where they are not supposed to exist – in the desert, in unprecedentedly high temperatures – like in a horror movie about wild nature getting out of control and rebelling against the laws of nature. After all, you don’t need to be a certified gardener to recognize that creating a large flower garden in the heart of the desert is a complex task, which, until a few decades ago, would have seemed impossible. A real miracle, as can be deduced from the name chosen for the place.
The History Of Dubai Miracle Garden
The beautiful Dubai Flower Garden opened in 2013, after a successful collaboration between the real estate company “Dubailand” and a gardening and agricultural company named “Dubai Properties”. The man behind the vision was a Jordanian businessman named Abdel Naser Rahhal, who dreamed of taking the vision of making the desert bloom a few steps further. The construction of the project is estimated at around 40 million AED, an amount equivalent to around 11 million US dollars.
In a way that is not coincidental, the garden opened on Valentine’s Day 2013, to rub salt in the wounds of the men who did not buy their wives flowers last Valentine’s Day (don’t ask how I know that).
How Many Flowers Does Dubai Miracle Garden Have?
Today, the Dubai Flower Garden spans approximately 780,000 square meters and features over 50 million flowers and 150 million plants, making it the world’s most extensive flower garden.
The garden holds several Guinness World Records, including the world’s most extensive vertical garden and the world’s largest flower arrangement, as we will explain later. All of this is further proof that in Dubai, with enough money and ambition, any dream (or nightmare) can become a reality. Every flower is precisely placed according to detailed engineering plans. There are thoughts behind every petal, as if a giant computer brain designed the place with an obsession for order and symmetry, some would say OCD. This precision creates a feeling of a place that is not really real, where everything is a little too perfect, too neat, too beautiful.
What Can You Find In Miracle Garden Dubai?
The Dubai Flower Garden offers you, first of all, unprecedented beauty. You probably have never seen hundreds of millions of flowers and plants organized in an exemplary order and with perfect mathematical precision, over an area of tens of thousands of square meters. Or flowers that make up giant sculptures, which the crazy ones among you (oops) could imagine as if they were coming to life at any moment and creating a horror movie.
Dubai’s Miracle Garden features colorful and vast displays that are renewed, or at least refreshed, each year during the park’s holiday season. Among the notable exhibits we’ve seen here over the years:
The Airbus A380 Flower Structure
One of the highlights here is a spectacular airplane sculpture, which holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest flower arrangement / Structure: an arrangement that makes up a life-size Emirates A380, an Airbus model considered the world’s largest passenger jet. This impressive floral plane, measuring 72 meters long and 24 meters high, is made up of more than 500,000 seasonal flowers, which cover a steel structure weighing more than 30 tons. The famous Emirates logo that flutters on the plane alone required about 9,000 flowers.
This display is breathtaking, but it may seem a little scary. This display reminded me of abandoned airplanes in a forest, which eventually become covered in vegetation, as we wrote about on our website.
Historical Buildings… From Flowers
In recent years, we have seen quite a few floral versions of famous buildings around the world in the Miracle Garden. Unsurprisingly, much of the attention has been given to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world.
Other buildings that have been honored include the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, and “simply” buildings inspired by cultures and design styles from around the world, such as pyramids or buildings based on the principles of European architecture.
Disney Characters Come To Life
During 2018, Dubai Miracle Garden and Walt Disney signed a licensing agreement. Shortly after, floral structures of familiar Disney characters began to appear here, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and others.
The Mickey Mouse Topiary, at a height of about 19 meters and weighing no less than 35 tons (mainly thanks to the steel structure it is supported by), is made of almost 100,000 flowers and plants, including white and red petunias, white geraniums, violets, and more.
This unique Mickey Mouse flower arrangement holds the Guinness World Record for the largest sculpture in the world supported by landscaping – which means he already has three Guinness World Records, and there are more to come. Kill me, but a giant, floral version of Mickey Mouse resurrected would probably be more successful than the sea of failed Mickey Mouse horror movies that have emerged in recent years after the rights to the original Mickey Mouse character became public domain.
Flowers And Other Surprises
- Palaces, castles, and other buildings that look like they came out of a fairy tale
- A giant flower doll in the shape of a bear
- The Tunnel of Hearts – a very photographed place, which is, of course, a hit among couples and Instagram users
- A floral clock, which is about 15 meters long
- The Smurfs Village, which will introduce you to the wonderful world of the weird blue creatures and the villain who chases them with his scary cat
- The Floating Lady – an incredible figure of a woman flying in the air, with open arms and flowing hair. I don’t know why, but she reminded me of an image of a character possessed by a demon in a horror movie
- A flowery hill and a sunflower field
Don’t Miss The Dubai Butterfly Garden
As part of the flower garden, you will also find an indoor butterfly garden that has been operating since 2015 and offers more than 15,000 butterflies from dozens of species, with the colorfulness working overtime here too. In Dubai, they love to break records, and the butterfly garden is the most extensive indoor garden of its kind in the world, and the first of its kind in the region.
You will find the butterflies in approximately 10 domes equipped with climate control, designed to simulate their natural environment. You can get explanations and watch their beautiful transformation from egg to caterpillar, pupa, and finally, the colorful winged butterfly up close. Children will surely be delighted to hear the names given to each butterfly here, some named after familiar children’s characters.
In recent years, the Butterfly Garden has hosted several Halloween events that included special decorations and attractions that are pure horror.
A Flower Garden In The Service Of Nature
Unsurprisingly, Dubai’s Flower Garden operates in the most ecological ways possible. It is clear that watering flowers of such an astronomical scale is complex, and is done with the help of an underground system of drippers, which reportedly uses more than 750,000 liters of gray water every day.
The principle here is that to save water as much as possible, Dubai’s gray water enters the frame – that is, wastewater that does not include human waste, as opposed to “black water” – and this undergoes a thorough purification process. In this way, we can reuse water that has already been used for purposes such as washing or watering, saving astronomical amounts of “new” water.
The garden has received a lot of praise for its water use and energy-saving methods, which save about 75% of energy compared to less advanced methods.
Opening Hours Of The Dubai Miracle Garden
Given Dubai’s challenging weather, you won’t be surprised to hear that the garden is only open seasonally. It is closed during the hot summer months – usually May to October – due to the challenges of attracting tourists and maintaining the site in Dubai’s hell of a summer.
Fortunately, it comes back to life in the cooler months, when it is easier to visit and the flowering is once again impressive. From the perspective of travelers in Dubai during these months, the task can still be challenging at certain times. Don’t forget that this is an entirely open place located under the sun, except for arranged seating areas in the shade, with benches and umbrellas. If you want to rest in the shadows, don’t miss the artificial lake that will allow you to sit and admire all the beauty that surrounds you.
As of the current point in time, these are the opening hours of Miracle Garden Dubai in 2025:
Midweek: 9:00 PM-9:00 AM
Weekends: 11:00 PM-9:00 PM
On holidays and special events, opening hours may be longer
How Much Time Should You Spend In Dubai Miracle Garden?
Please note that a visit to the flower garden usually lasts about 2-3 hours, depending on your walking pace and the time you dedicate to photography. Although the park does not offer attractions beyond admiring the displays and wandering between them while taking multiple photos, there are walking paths here with a total length of about 4 kilometers.
We always recommend giving the place its due and not exploring it at a marathon pace, no matter how much there is to see and do in Dubai. If you also include the butterfly garden, you can expect a visit duration of about 3-4 hours here.
What Is The Best Time To Visit The Flower Garden?
One of the central dilemmas is when exactly to visit the flower garden; visiting at night (or at least in the evening) is certainly possible according to the operating hours, but should you do it?
It’s a tricky question that only you can decide. On the one hand, it is clear that Dubai’s weather, which can be extremely hot, makes a visit during the more pleasant evening hours easier to achieve, especially since the lighting in the place is certainly sufficient. On the other hand, some would recommend making the effort and visiting here during the day, when you can admire the flowers and plants in their natural colors, without the need for the “mediation” of a lighting system.
As horror fans, who let our imaginations work overtime, especially in the evening, there are quite a few advantages to visiting at night. From a practical point of view, the best tip we can give you is to check the weather and arrive in the afternoon, or in the early morning, before the Dubai sun gives its signals.
In any case, you may encounter a crowd of visitors at the venue, which is not surprising in a tourist city like Dubai and a popular attraction.
Where Can You Buy Tickets For Dubai Miracle Garden?
Like most attractions in Dubai, we recommend buying tickets in advance for the Flower Garden online. Given the price differences and potential changes across different websites, we recommend conducting a quick price comparison between the sites. In any case, it is less advisable to buy tickets at the box office, because by purchasing in advance online, you are likely to avoid possible crowds at the box office and even receive more favorable prices. In addition, with an advance purchase, you can reserve a place for yourself on a specific date, which will prevent unpleasant surprises.
Here you can find different types of tickets to the Flower Garden, in most cases with free cancellation up to 24 hours before:
Ticket prices vary depending on the characteristics of the visitors:
🎟️ Full price (age 12 and up)
🎟️ Reduced price (age range 12-3)
🎟️ Free admission: children up to 3 years old and those with physical disabilities with an appropriate certificate
Note: There are different types of tickets, which offer extras such as a flesh-and-blood guide (mainly in English), an audio guide, or hotel pickup and drop-off at the end of the visit.
Where Is The Dubai Miracle Garden Located?
The Flower Garden in Dubai is on Street 3 of Al Barsha (South) in Dubai. It is a certain distance from the center. The encouraging news is that thanks to Dubai’s excellent public transport, you can get there relatively easily.
🚌 Bus – RTA bus number 105
🚇 Metro – Red Line to Mall of the Emirates station, and from there, line 105
🚗 Rental car – There is a spacious parking lot in the complex
🚐 Shuttle – Book tickets with a transfer from your hotel
Essential Tips For Visiting The Flower Garden
- Buy tickets in advance, which will likely save you time or money. In today’s current reality, it is recommended to always look for options with free cancellation, even if these tickets are more expensive at the start.
- Try to schedule your visit for weekdays and not weekends, when the crowds may spoil the experience (or your attempts to photograph the flowers without tourists getting in your frame).
- The place is suitable for all ages, from children to adults, and is equally accessible for those with physical disabilities.
- Take care of the garden! It is strictly forbidden to pick flowers, climb on the exhibits, or enter the area of the flower beds. You don’t really want to get in trouble with the authorities in Dubai, do you?
- Make sure to bring enough water, especially if you are arriving on a hot day (as mentioned, in the hotter months, the garden is likely to be closed). Don’t forget a hat and sunscreen.
- It is forbidden to bring food into the flower garden.
- Wear comfortable shoes, because you will be walking quite a bit between the various exhibits.
- Bring a camera and enough battery. You will leave with countless colorful photos.
