Vertical Gardens in Dubai: Artificial Green Wall Guide
How vertical gardens work in Dubai's climate, why living walls are harder work than they look, and what an artificial green wall really involves.
By Stephen Pickering
For most homes, offices and gyms, I'd put up an artificial green wall rather than a living one. A vertical garden in Dubai made of real plants needs irrigation, feeding and someone who knows plants, all year round. An artificial wall needs a dust now and then, and a UV stabilised panel keeps its colour in full sun.
Living walls aren't a mistake. They're a bigger commitment, and they suit fewer spaces.
Artificial green wall or living wall: what's the difference?
A living wall is a garden stood upright. Real plants grow in pockets or grow bags against a backing board, and an irrigation line runs through them. An artificial vertical green wall is cladding: panels of moulded foliage, fixed to a frame and cut to fit.
They can look alike in a photo. Here's where they differ:
| Artificial green wall | Living wall | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | None | An irrigation line, a timer and a water supply |
| Ongoing care | An occasional dust or rinse | Feeding, pruning and replacing plants that die |
| Light | Doesn't matter | Plants have to suit the light; indoors that often means grow lights |
| Outdoor summer sun | Fine, if the panel is UV stabilised | Limits which plants you can use |
| Ceilings | Straightforward | Not practical |
| Who looks after it | You, every few months | A plant specialist, under contract |
Why is a living wall harder work in Dubai?
Living walls do work here. Dubai Wharf in Culture Village has one 210 metres long and 6 metres high, with more than 80,000 plants in peat-filled grow bags (Gulf News, November 2018). That's a developer's project, with irrigation and drainage built into the system.
A living wall at home or in an office needs the same two things: a proper irrigation system and someone on contract who knows plants. If the timer fails in July, you can lose a section before anyone notices. A living wall doesn't take Eid off.
Indoors, the problem is light. A reception wall far from a window gives plants very little, so indoor living walls usually come with grow lights and an electricity bill to match.
There's also the wall behind it. Damp growing medium held against a building needs a waterproof backing and a route for the water to drain.
Where does a vertical garden work in Dubai?
Our Mazewall artificial green wall panels go on walls, floors and ceilings, indoors or out. Homes, offices and gyms each use them a little differently.
Homes and apartments
An indoor green wall in an apartment usually goes behind the sofa, the TV or a majlis seating area, where planting was never an option. On a balcony, it goes on the solid wall, not the glass balustrade. If you want the balcony floor green too, that's artificial grass for balconies, a separate job.
In a villa, it's boundary walls, shaded side returns, the wall behind the pool or the outdoor kitchen, and screening for AC units.
If you rent, ask your landlord or building management before anything is screwed into a wall.
Offices
For an office green wall installation, behind reception is the obvious place. It also suits windowless meeting rooms and corridors, where real plants would struggle. If your fit-out has to meet a fire rating for wall finishes, raise it with us before anything is ordered.
Gyms
A gym plant wall is the easiest call of the three. Go artificial. Gyms run long hours, the staff are there to coach, and nobody wants water or soil next to the mats.
One of our outdoor walls runs the full length of a villa pool, in sun all day and next to the splash. Indoors, the same panels go behind reception desks and into a majlis.
How is an artificial green wall installed?
We screw a wooden frame into the wall, floor or ceiling, then fix the panels to the frame. The panels get cut around sockets, lights, corners and anything else that stays.
Whatever's behind the frame has to hold a screw. Glass can't. That rules out balustrades, glass office partitions and shopfronts. If there's no wall where you want the green, our in-house installation team builds a frame to fix it to.
We don't quote a green wall from photos. The fixing surface, the height, the access and the number of openings set the scope, and none of them shows up properly in a picture.
Will an artificial green wall fade in the Dubai sun?
Not if it's UV stabilised. An unstabilised plastic leaf can fade and go brittle in strong sun. Our Mazewall panels are fully UV stabilised and carry a 5-year warranty. That's a separate term from the grass, because it's a separate product.
If you're buying an outdoor panel from anyone, ask for UV stabilisation in writing. "Suitable for outdoor use" on its own doesn't tell you much.
Choose artificial if… choose living if…
Choose an artificial green wall if:
- Nobody's going to look after plants every week
- The wall gets no daylight, or the full afternoon sun
- It's on a ceiling, or overhead in a pergola
- It's a gym, a rental or a busy commercial space
Choose a living wall if:
- You want real plants, and you'll pay for the irrigation and a maintenance contract
- The wall gets the right light for the plants you've chosen
- The backing and drainage are being designed in from the start
What I'd put on my own wall
Artificial. On a balcony or in a courtyard, I wouldn't think twice. I'd want a fully UV stabilised panel with a mix of leaf shapes and greens, so the pattern doesn't repeat across a big wall.
If I had a shaded courtyard and a gardener coming every week, I'd think harder about a living wall.
FAQs
Can Mazewall go on a floor?
Yes. It's used for small green floor areas in courtyards, kids' corners and photo spots.
How do you clean an artificial green wall?
Dust it. Inside, go over it with a soft brush or a vacuum on low every few months. Outside, hose it down to wash off the sand. Under a tree, you'll do it more often.
Can you put artificial grass on a wall instead?
You can, and it gives a flatter, clipped look rather than foliage. We once covered a billboard at the entrance to District One in it, which we wrote up in artificial grass on walls and billboards.
If you've got a wall in mind, book a free site survey through our contact form and I'll send one of the team to measure up and check what the wall is made of.
Stephen Pickering has worked for Maze for over three years and is highly knowledgeable about grass product specifications and product quality. He has over 20 years' experience in sales and product roles in the UK and the Middle East.
