A Thai-inspired garden in Victory Heights

At the Victory Heights development there is a garden with its own, rather unique stamp. While it is clear that you are in the Middle East with the garden's views of the local golf course, if you look a little closer, you can also detect a touch of the Orient.

Sally Balsdon, who moved into her delightful home just over a year ago, also owns property in Thailand, so perhaps it was to be expected that there would be a Far Eastern influence when it came to her garden in Dubai. But how did she turn her former sandpit into the luxurious haven it is today? Balsdon admits, "When we first moved in, the garden was basically just sand - a blank canvas - which meant that we could add our own personal touch. It was quite difficult to decide who to use for the landscape design and we probably looked at five or six different companies. We finally narrowed it down to TerraVerde, due to its good reputation, and having seen a garden the team had previously done."

Once the ever-creative TerraVerde was on board, it was non-stop until the garden was perfect. "We decided on TerraVerde in March last year and there were lots of tweakings and drawings," says Balsdon. "We were quite involved - I was watching the guys the whole time!"

While Balsdon admits that she was keen to be involved in the landscaping process, other people also became part of the process with their inspirational ideas.

"Some of the inspiration came from Thailand, but some of it came from my friend, who suggested the length, since we do use it a lot for exercise. She also had the idea of having the L-shape nearby for chilling. My husband too, had quite a bit of input and threw a few ideas around. In fact he was quite creative!"

The swimming pool, which is 14 metres long, is one of the areas where Thai influences are evident. "The pool tiles came from there - they are not the normal-size mosaics," says Balsdon. "They use slightly bigger tiles in Thailand and we managed to find a supplier on one of our trips. We gave the TerraVerde team the details and they dealt with them. TerraVerde bent over backwards for us."

The plants, meanwhile, serve as another reminder of Balsdon's Thai connection. "We have lots of bamboo - I love it," explains Balsdon. "We also have Cycas revoluta, a pongamia tree, cassia tree, palm trees, bougainvillea and ravanella. I had seen the ravanella in Thailand. I had researched the plants I wanted when I was there and took photos of them. From the beginning I wanted the garden to be really lush and tropical." With ravanella also being the traveller's palm, this seemed pretty appropriate for the well-travelled Balsdon.

Other personal touches include three elaborate gold pots at the front of the garden, which were a housewarming present from Balsdon's grandmother. And, of course, this garden would not be complete without a mention of its pièce de résistance in the form of carefully placed fire pots. "The fire pots that TerraVerde put in are so cool. The visual effect is just awesome. They also give off heat in winter," Balsdon says.

Along with a barbecue area, an outdoor sound system and many more captivating features in this garden, can Balsdon narrow down her favourite things about this fabulous outdoor area? She suggests, "Although the garden is still quite young at the moment, we are really pleased with it. The barbecue and bar area were important for entertaining. I love all of it, but probably my favourite parts would be the pool and the fire pots, because they are really cool."

 Like many who have invested time and money into their gardens, Balsdon admits that leaving home is now a struggle.

"We are terrible. We don't go out any more! I would rather stay at home and go out in the garden. It is just lovely to chill out." And with a space of 10,000 square feet, there is certainly plenty of room for her to chill out in this fabulous garden in the midst of Victory Heights.

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