Flowercarpet @ Grand Place

Come and admire the Flower Carpet in the Grand Place in Brussels from 14 to 19 August 2012. From 9 am to 11 pm, a panoramic view from the balcony of the Hotel de Ville. Every evening at 10.00 pm, 10.30 pm and 11.00 pm: sound and light.

You won't believe your eyes. When you pass through one of the seven entrances into the Grand Place, you will be presented with a brilliant spectacle. Stretching out over 2,000 m2, the floral display will positively glow with sparkling colours arranged in subtle designs. This monumental work, an original and ephemeral creation, requires months of design and preparation but has been put in place in just one day. A hundred expert craftsmen follow meticulous plans; each of the begonias and dahlias making up this exceptional tableau has its exact place, in complete harmony. Of course, you can stroll all around this exceptional installation. During the day as well as by night, you will be aware of the subtle variations in coloured nuances, fragrances and atmosphere. Enthusiasts from around the world come to admire this marvel. Why not join them, chatting on the steps of the staircases leading to the balcony of the Hotel de Ville? From there, every day from 9.00 am to 11.00 pm, you won't believe your eyes. Your camera will record images that will remain fixed in your memory.

Making the impossible happen

The actual making of the carpet is based on a plan worked out in advance, consisting of several stages. Everything starts, often a year in advance, with projects and scale models, illustrating a commissioned theme. Once the theme has been produced in representation and symbol, the number of flowers and color combinations calculated and the outlines finally drawn on the ground, then the work starts. The skilful, dedicated work of a hundred experienced gardeners and their enthusiasm enables them to put together this giant floral jigsaw in under four hours.

Let's go to Africa

This summer, you will have the chance to escape to faraway lands of Africa. You will be transported with this tapestry of shimmering patterns recalling designs from the tribes of Ethiopia, Congo, Nigeria, Botswana, and Cameroun, a harmonious fusion which will carry you away for a magnificent trip.

Installing the Flower Carpet

The day before, the spaces between the floral patterns will already have been filled with rolled turf. Did you know that the flowers are packed together one by one, 300 to every square meter of the ground (+/- 800.000 flowers!), so tightly (no soil is used at all) that they won't be blown away by the first puff of wind, and create their own microclimate? In heat waves, the turf has to be watered to prevent it from shrinking, but if the weather is too wet, the grass can grow 4 to 5 centimeters in 3 days? The wonders of nature! Always the same, yet different each time, no carpet is like any other, even if it is always essentially made up of 800,000 begonias ("tuberosa grandiflora"), one of the glories of Belgian horticultur.