Regular readers of this column will have noticed that over the past 14 months several themes have emerged. These include: the need for more sustainable gardening; the benefits of using plant species adapted to local climatic conditions; the shortcomings of local growers in providing only what the market asks for and not what it needs, and the efforts of pioneering individuals and organisations who have tried to make a difference to the local horticultural scene.
To give loyal readers a break and a treat, this week's column comes with both a soundtrack (please start humming Bing Crosby's 1945 hit, Ac-cen-tchu-ate the Positive) and a promise: I will try my best to make it constructive and rant-free.
With this in mind, I'd like to draw your attention to the major new roadside planting schemes that have started to appear around Abu Dhabi, particularly on Saadiyat Island and the area around Al Bandar and Al Raha Beach.
These schemes are a boon to local gardeners who struggle to identify readily available plants that will be hardy, low(ish) maintenance and that will provide interest and colour year-round. Not only can commuters inspect them each day from the comfort of their cars, but the planting is also executed on a scale that allows it to be appreciated when one is travelling at speed: in single-species blocks that successfully highlight the particular qualities of each species by presenting them en masse.
The kinetic effects of Pennisetum setaceum (fountain grass) as it billows in the wind are apparent to passing traffic, and young trees are planted in such a way that even their supporting stakes become a positive, abstract feature in the overall scheme. Dark lilac flowers of the Mexican wild petunia (Ruellia tweediana) appear like mounds of Provençal lavender, creating a delightful, painterly effect with the cerise, peach and pink bracts of low, closely clipped Bougainvillaea hedges, while fields of Agave punctuate bands of cream, grey, and russet-coloured gravel like heraldic fleur-de-lis.
The use of decorative gravel mulch is particularly important because it allows the development of larger shapes and forms that would normally be filled with high-maintenance bedding plants and turf. Not only does this strategy prevent the spread of wind-blown sand, it also helps to reduce evaporation and cools the soil while cutting the amount of labour required and, ultimately, cost.
Like their less sustainable counterparts elsewhere in the region, where thirsty tropical plants, turf and annual bedding still feature heavily, Abu Dhabi's new roadsides can provide inspiration and many important lessons for car-bound gardeners. That they do so with plant and landscape materials that are readily available from local souqs, nurseries and garden centres may be of benefit to readers of this column, but surely misses the point when it comes to understanding what these spaces represent when viewed from the broader perspective.
Given that these spaces are little more than beautified gaps between highways and overpasses, this may sound like over-the-top aesthetic preciousness. However, as soon as the Louvre, Guggenheim and other institutions open, the world's cultural and media elites will be making the journey from the airport to Saadiyat. Every aesthetic decision will be judged with the utmost scrutiny, and foreign media, who already find it difficult to look beyond tired clichés when discussing the UAE, will stop at nothing to find instances where Abu Dhabi has failed to live up to its international ambitions.
Viewed from this perspective, roadside planting schemes become nothing less than a living advertisement for the values of Brand Abu Dhabi. The treatment of the road from the airport to Saadiyat becomes a grand processional route that will communicate important messages about the capital's cultural, environmental and social aspirations. Too much irrigation will be seen as evidence of environmental illiteracy, too high a level of maintenance will smack of cheap labour, and the kind of large-scale domestic planting schemes that are currently being used will, I'm afraid, betoken a lack of vision and imagination.
Of course, in certain sections of the press, Abu Dhabi will be damned whatever it does but this shouldn't stop the city from being ambitious. For example, I can think of no better spaces to showcase the native flora of the UAE or to display the capital's sustainable credentials in a way that is both aesthetically appealing and technically innovative.
On an island with some of the world's greatest cultural institutions, where some of the world's greatest artists will be creating site-specific installations of unprecedented scale, it seems odd that nobody has approached the roadside areas with equal ambition.
If this sounds fanciful, it's an approach that's already been successfully adopted in other major cities. In Melbourne, Australia, designers have created several major roadside installations that are now recognised as being important works of landscape art and architecture in their own right, while in London, the much-derided elevated section of the A40 is now home to a leisure centre, climbing wall, artists' studios, stable and urban farm.
Unfortunately, the UAE's roadside planting schemes are still informed by a "city beautiful" aesthetic in which greening and beautification are the main goals. The real potential of these invaluable and overlooked urban spaces is largely left unexplored. Only when the capital's roadside areas have become successful sites for art installations, nature reserves, energy generation, food production, employment, education and leisure will they be the kind of critic-proof, low-level background evidence that Abu Dhabi will need to prove its cultural and environmental bona fides once the world's cognoscenti descend.
After all, in the media world of clichés, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Did you notice that Bing had stopped singing? I do apologise; I must be ranting.
Garden buy: Cox & Cox candle lanterns
We love these brilliant fire-retardant paper bags, punched with a star-shaped graphic. They create a lovely soft glow and look stunning lined along a terrace, path or dotted around the garden.
Place a tea light inside (we use Ikea's larger, longer-lasting Glimma) and weigh down with a bit of rice or sand to prevent the lantern blowing over.
Cox & Cox will post purchases (depending on number/weight) to the UAE for a flat rate of Dh272, so it's worth filling up your basket with a few more items from their range of outdoor decorative items and gardening products. £9.50 (Dh58) for a pack of 10, www.coxandcox.co.uk
POWERWASH%20SIMULATOR
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
Company%20profile
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Specs%20
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Race card
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (Dirt), 1,900m
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB), Dh120,000 (D), 1,400m
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB), Dh92,500 (D)1,400m
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB), Dh95,000 (D), 2,000m
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
Oppenheimer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Nolan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECillian%20Murphy%2C%20Emily%20Blunt%2C%20Robert%20Downey%20Jr%2C%20Florence%20Pugh%2C%20Matt%20Damon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
RACE CARD
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
