Sowing the seeds for an oasis in the desert

But, as Sandra Dick finds, their biggest challenge has been coping with the climate which couldn't be more different from the one back home.

THE Oman sun was at its fiercest, scorching the ground and burning the backs of workers as they dug deep, racing against the clock.

The rugged surface of the northern gravel desert - formed from stones and pebbles that have washed down over thousands of years from mountainsides - was a challenging foe.

Hard work, sweat and gritty determination was vital to turn this harsh and unforgiving landscape into anything resembling an oasis of flora and fauna...

"Yep, it was hot," laughs Leigh Morris, one of a team sent from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to the furnace of Oman, where the Sultan has ordered millions of pounds to be poured into creating the largest botanic garden on Arabian soil, at the outskirts of its capital, Muscat.

"I can honestly say I have never drunk so much water in my entire life," he adds.

"It was up in the 40s most of the time, so plants were starting to "fry" in the heat. There wasn't much of a window for planting, we had to work pretty hard. As it turned out, the plants grew back extremely well. We're delighted." It's a long way from the Botanics in Inverleith to the outskirts of Muscat, where the heat is soothed by just four inches of rain a year and occasional cooling breezes from the Arabian Sea.

Yet when it came to creating a showcase for the country's 1200 species of plants - 200 indigenous to Oman, many at risk of being lost to climate change and over-grazing - it was Edinburgh expertise that came to the rescue.

Staff from Inverleith have spent three years working there, travelling high into the mountains and deep into its harsh deserts, trekking over landscapes that alternate between dusty and dry to damp and foggy searching for hundreds of plants.

Last month the intense preparation, propagation and planning finally reached a peak when work was finished on the "northern gravel desert" section of the new Oman Botanic Garden, the first of seven display habitats designed to reflect a specific area of the country's landscape.

Creating a massive garden in the desert may sound like an impossible task. Harder still when Oman's diverse landscape includes an unusual "fog" desert, where there is seldom rain but a shroud of mist enables some plants to thrive, miles of salt flats and sand dunes and mountain areas where peach and juniper trees flourish.

Which is why the garden will eventually feature five enormous biomes - similar to the Eden Project in Cornwall - which work in reverse, helping to keep fragile plants cool and moist in the searing heat of the desert.

"The entire area is huge," explains Leigh, who as head of education at the Botanics in Edinburgh has been involved in collecting and preparing plants and helping design the garden layout and facilities. Eventually there will be a sand desert, salt desert, woodland and rivers habitat, northern gravel desert, northern mountains, south mountain and agriculture with date palms and pomegranate.

"Because the actual site near Muscat is located in the northern gravel desert area of Oman, it made sense to make that the first habitat we planted."

The result is a striking miniature display of elegant grasses, large shrubs, lavender bushes and pretty annuals which erupt from the rough ground after a sprinkling of rain and bloom only briefly. There are the thorny Acacia torilis trees and low scrub, lush greenery amid the rocks dissected by streams and wadis - dry riverbeds.

At its heart stands a pretty "sarh" tree (Maerua crassifolia), with petite white flowers that lure butterflies, rescued by the team from certain destruction at a road development site six months earlier and brought to Muscat.

In all, 1794 plants of 48 species - including 30 trees - were planted by 22 workers in five hectic days under a blistering sun. And almost every one was grown at the new garden's nursery from seed which was collected by garden staff - in some cases, the first time plants had been propagated in such a way.

Developing the garden, which when it opens in 2013 will stretch over 425 hectares, has meant overcoming challenges barely imagined when the Sultan of Oman first unveiled plans four years ago for one of the modern Arab world's largest botanical projects.

And the biggest headache was how to provide the most vital ingredient for a garden - water.

"Getting water is one challenge we don't usually have to consider in Scotland," agrees Leigh. "In Oman, it is currently being trucked in. Soon we'll be able to start using water from the wells that have been drilled on site, but sustainability is an issue."

The project, adds Leigh, who will discuss it at a special lecture at the Botanics tonight, is more than simply creating a showcase garden.For it could also help save some species currently under threat of extinction from climate change and the vast number of goats that love to chew on Oman's most fragile vegetation.

And as well as lending their expertise, the work has also benefited the Edinburgh garden staff whose new found knowledge of Arabian plantlife could eventually lead to even better collections at the Inverleith site.

"The experiences I and others are gaining will undoubtedly help us in future projects," adds Leigh.

"There's a lot more work to do before the garden is finished in 2013, and we'd hope to be involved for as long as possible."

Leigh Martin will discuss the Oman Botanic Garden work tonight at the RBGE Lecture Theatre. For details call 0131 552 5339.

A CHOICE OF EIGHT PALACES AND FIVE YACHTS

The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, ordered the creation of a multi-million pound botanic garden - the largest of its kind in Arabia - four years ago.

The aim is to create a garden that combines pleasure with serious study of native plants. Conservation of threatened species - around 200 of Oman's 1200 species of plants are endangered - is a key priority of the new garden.

The 69-year-old Sultan presides over an oil and mineral-wealthy nation of around 2.8 million people.

He became Sultan in 1970 after overthrowing his father in a palace coup.

He has the choice of eight palaces - most with private helipads and two with their own airports.

He also owns five super-yachts, including Al Said, the world's third largest yacht, which features its own orchestra.