LONDON // It wasn't as sunny in London as she had hoped, but the first Emirati landscape designer at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show was "thrilled" to win a silver-gilt medal.
Kamelia bin Zaal had been hoping for a bright day because her design, The Beauty of Islam, dedicated to founding President Sheikh Zayed, uses a play of light and shade.
But even as the rain fell her design caught the judges’ eyes – and those of Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla.
“To receive a silver-gilt is incredible. Honestly, I can’t really explain it,” she said on Tuesday. “I wasn’t really expecting a medal as a first-timer.
“Everyone is describing the garden as serene and peaceful. I’ve had a lot of people saying, ‘You should have won gold’.”
She said Prince Charles showed an interest partly because one of the gardens at his home, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, drew on Middle East influences.
“He was very appreciative, because he has his own Islamic garden at Highgrove,” said Ms bin Zaal, who lives in Dubai.
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his wife Sophie also visited the garden, as did veteran TV presenters Esther Rantzen and Angela Rippon.
Abdulrahman Ghanem Almutaiwee, the UAE’s ambassador to the UK, was another high-profile visitor to The Beauty of Islam garden.
"I am overwhelmed with what I have seen – it is something we should be very proud of," he told The National. "We are very proud to have UAE participation here."
Ambassador Almutaiwee said the garden honours the legacy of Sheikh Zayed, given the late President’s historic involvement in Chelsea.
Sheikh Zayed exhibited many of his own gardens at Chelsea, including the 2003 gold-medal winner Garden from the Desert, designed by Christopher Bradley-Hole.
Ms bin Zaal’s garden, which was also inspired by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, features references to the Spice Route with species including cardamom, fig, citrus and olive.
She wanted her garden to convey a positive image of Islam, something to which the public proved receptive.
It had rained on Monday when the main round of judging took place and Ms bin Zaal displayed her garden to media, royalty and celebrities.
There were 15 entrants in the “show garden” category at the Royal Horticultural Society event, which is an intrinsic part of the British social calendar.
The Laurent-Perrier Chatsworth Garden, designed by Dan Pearson, was on Tuesday named the best show garden.
Gold medallists also included A Perfumer's Garden in Grasse by L'Occitane and The Brewin Dolphin Garden.
The Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw, was another gold medal winner.
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