Zain Masud’s earliest memories of gardens trace back to her childhood. While visiting her grandfather in Islamabad, Pakistan they would walk the city’s streets. “It was a very verdant city, and we used to wander and look at all the flowers,” she told MOJEH. “I would turn them upside down and look at the roots, and he used to tell me that if I could appreciate these things, I would always be happy. It’s a very clear memory that really stayed with me,” she recalls. Today, that sense of fascination and appreciation for nature continues to shape her work. Having founded her own landscaping business after moving from London, where she grew up, to Dubai five years ago, Zain, whose father is from Pakistan and mother is from Saudi Arabia, now channels that childhood wonder into creating breathtaking gardens for clients across the UAE and beyond.
Her career, however, began in the art world. With two degrees in art history, she spent over 15 years immersed in the industry, working at a Parisian gallery before becoming Fair Director at Art Dubai, as well as stints working in the art sectors in India and Moscow. But her creative instincts always gravitated toward something more tangible and immersive, and her journey from art curator to landscape designer is nothing short of inspiring. “I’ve just always loved building space,” she says. “I’m an art world person, and although I collect some art, connecting art and design and making space has always been really important to me.” The realisation that she could channel this passion through trees, plants and garden design came unexpectedly, yet felt entirely natural. “It’s somehow the most natural thing I could be doing for my own personal inclinations,” she says of her transition into the sector.
Stepping into Zain’s own space, you can immediately feel a sense of calm. Greeted by her beautiful dogs, Fig and Uni, her home is surrounded by greenery and birdsong, a sanctuary in the heart of Jumeirah. Her private garden in Dubai blends textures and elements that transcend seasons and genres, and her use of space is pivotal to the design of her garden. While not a vast space, there is something quite expansive yet also very personal about it. The garden falls into the full circumference of the house, with many surprising twists, turns and unexpected corners that allow for different experiences. “Having space means you can create a number of gardens within a garden. You can move from one space to another, each part having its own character within the same DNA.” says Zain. Inside and out, it’s clear that the attention to detail has gone into every element of her home. She collects artworks, pottery, vintage furniture and books; a myriad of cultures and genres, coming together to create something that works seamlessly. Her garden is the same, focusing on regional desert plants that live in harmony in ways that only an expert in garden design could envision. “Our moods are absolutely transformed by gardens,” says Zain. “In really dark times, which there have been quite a lot of in the world recently, I never fail to find joy in gardens and also a sense that we are part of something bigger.”
Zain’s transition to landscape design came serendipitously, “almost as if by destiny,” she explains. Even her team reflects her artistic roots. “The women who work with me are all from the art world; one was an architect, and one was an art historian who has become a landscape designer like me. And so together, we really envisage these spaces as evolving exhibitions or living works of art.”
She adds, “we really understand the capacity of these spaces to express something. As such a young practice, we have been given extraordinary opportunities because of my reputation as a professional in the region.” This fresh perspective allows her to push the boundaries of landscape design, seeing nature as more than just a backdrop. “It is a canvas, a medium for storytelling, and an ever- evolving creation,” she says.
One of her most cherished projects is a garden she designed in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, a place she holds dear to her heart. “It’s definitely a special place. We conceptualised it as a desert grove, we worked with architects, and the space remains a pinch-me moment every time I go there. I’ve known and loved Alserkal for so long, and it’s always been my home from home in Dubai, so to be able to make that kind of a contribution and to see how people feel when they’re in it just never gets old — it’s amazing.”
Zain’s philosophy is deeply personal and rooted in her values as a woman. She appreciates beauty in the finest details of everything, and her quest for perfection and quality in everything she does is clear: from her home, to the way she dresses. But it’s not perfection in the traditional sense. There is this almost imperfect perfectness that feels so well put together with everything she does. “I have a very strong point of view when it comes to beauty, taste and style. We all have our contradictions and insecurities, but I think it’s one thing about myself that I have never questioned,” she says. “I am constantly looking for substance and purity in everything. I’m a deep believer and quite a romantic and poetic spirit.” She adds.
Zain’s passion is contagious, and it seems that everyone involved in her work feels it too. “I am uncompromising in my pursuit of quality, and I think that helps in a context where you are trying to make something that’s exquisite and ethereal and alive, but you’re also working against forces that are just trying to get things done,” she explains. “I also work with a lot of men, and so I think I’ve got quite a strong personality and that sort of relentlessness and accountability to the people who’ve hired me to do the job. I think the approach we take and the genuine love we have for it means that people really get into it, and they understand and appreciate our vision.”
Her strength and determination, she explains, are undoubtedly influenced by the long line of powerful women in her family. Leaving an established career behind was not a decision that she took lightly, but her courage and her story are something she hopes will serve to inspire other women. “I had an established career in the art world, and it’s very, very difficult to step aside from something that you have done for a long time. It’s scary all the time,” she admits. “But the joy of waking up every day and doing something that I love is so worth it. I can’t tell you how much it has transformed my life, and it is a luxury to be able to do this. It’s formed the new basis of my identity, and I can see it playing out until I’m old.”
She finishes with some words of encouragement for any woman looking to follow a new path: “If there is something that’s truly important and makes her feel this way, find the courage to pursue it. I used to work to live; now I live to work, but it doesn’t even feel like work. It feels much bigger than myself; it feels much more like a spiritual vocation.”
Originally Published In The April 2025 Issue of MOJEH Magazine. Subscribe here
