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.
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.
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.
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.
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