The construction of the Flower Carpet Brussels is just as interesting as the finished carpet in the historic surroundings. Hundreds of volunteers create this special work of art with approx. 700.000 begonias. The gray square is transformed in a very short time in a brilliantly luminous, colorful picture.
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More InformationThe Flower Carpet is 75 m long and 25 m wide. 1,800 m2 of begonias! It takes 2 years to bring about: the hundreds of thousands of cut flowers used for the composition need to be reserved well.
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. The day before, the spaces between the floral patterns will already have been filled with rolled turf.
All begonias must be in a full bloom at the same day. The flowers are kept fresh and radiant for four long days.
Just before the opening, 120 volunteers bring color to the carpet, based on a life-sized image which is laid down on the paving stones of the Grand-Place. A masterpiece of the gardeners and organizers!
It is not easy to stay for hours in a bent position, producing a homogeneous color pattern as not all flowers have exactly the same shade.
Boxes of flowers with different color shades must be brought to other places again and again. The city cleaning tries to take any waste immediately away.
The work was carried out before the eyes of thousands of people with mobile telephones, cameras and video cameras and any errors would have been detected immediately. In the meantime the responsible organizers discuss the final details.
That day, rain showers made a break indispensable but the flower carpet was finished in time and could be opened in the evening on schedule with a sound and light show and fireworks (see Opening Flower Carpet).
We used the interruption by the rain to take a look at the inside of the historic City Hall.
Did you know that the flowers are packed together one by one, 300 to every square meter of the ground, 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 micro climate?
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!
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