Don’t sweep this under the (Brussels Flower) carpet

The biannual Flower Carpet was on display in Grand Place this weekend, with an African theme. I hadn’t actually visited it before, so made my way to see it, before Rover opened up another fun night for the Brussels Summer Festival.

Flower Carpet, Brussels

I was well and truly underwhelmed. My partner who is mad on flowers wasn’t even impressed. The carpet is made up of around 750 000 flower heads packed tightly onto plastic sheets. When temperatures rise they have to be watered. With temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius the battle to keep them fresh looking was being lost.
Wilting flowers

Like any other display laid out in Grand Place, the only way to take in the full scope is to climb up to a viewing platform. The official platform was the First Floor balcony of the Hotel de Ville. Cost 5 Euros. I gave that a miss and used the money to buy a beer to share with friends on the first floor of Paon Pauro also overlooking the square.

Flower carpet, Brussels

I didn’t enjoy the flower carpet. I just kept thinking about rotting flower heads, and the lines from the Funeral Service. I was also wondering what was the environmental impact of growing flowers just to kill them rapidly over a space of four days.

That is not to say you wouldn’t love the Flower Carpet. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt by all of the other breathtaking art and events that can be experienced in Brussels.
[googlemaps width=640 height=480]

2 thoughts on “Don’t sweep this under the (Brussels Flower) carpet

  1. Thanks for following us on Twitter! The flower carpet is certainly a sight to behold if one happens to be in Brussels while it is there.

    If you or your readers are looking for inspiration on what to see and do on future travels, please take a look at our free, personalised city guides!

    Happy travelling!

    Chris @ http://www.citytripplanner.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.