The Dubai Miracle Garden is unique in that it was essentially built on a desert. Head landscaper Akar says that the grounds are a great example of how it is possible to “green the desert” by reusing waste water. Designers took additional precautions to protect the beautiful garden arrangements from the environment. For instance, the garden’s perimeter is lined with trees that are used as windbreakers. Unlike most of the gardens around the world, the Dubai Miracle Garden closes during the summer due to severe weather conditions.

This extraordinary series of close-up photos turns mundane insects into terrifying beasts from another world. The bugs are captured in intricate detail by photographer Javier Ruperez, using a special lens, revealing just how complex the tiny creatures are. (Photo by Javier Ruperez/Solent News & Photo Agency)

John and Edward Grimes of the band Jedward from Ireland peform at a dress rehearsal the day before the second semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 on May 11, 2011 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad watches as Pope John Paul II boards his plane at Damascus airport May 8, 2001 at the end of the Pontiff's four-day visit to Syria.

Challenger Deep Submersible is shown for the first time at the Virgin Group Media Announcement by the President & CEO of Virgin Airlines Sir Richard Branson at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club on April 5, 2011 in Balboa, California. (Photo by John M. Heller/Getty Images)

Anne Hathaway arrives for the premiere of Twentieth Century Fox & Blue Sky Studios' “RIO” on April 10, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images)

Accused Nazi criminal John Demjanjuk wears sunglasses as he arrives for his trial at a court room prior to the assumed verdict on May 12, 2011 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Beekeeper and Chairman of The London Beekeepers Association John Chapple installs a new bee hive on an urban rooftop garden in Hackney on July 1, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)