Flowertime in City Hall Brussels

Yesterday I visited the international flowerevent Flowertime in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. As a writer about everything blooming and flower-related events, this was one not to be missed.

The historic heart of Brussels turned into a Paradise full of flowers, fragrance and splendid colours. From the Grand Place right into the City Hall. As soon as we entered the building we forgot about the pouring rain outside. 25 hard working florists turned their flower installations into pieces of art inspired by Italian baroque gardens, the theme of this years flower event.

Flowertime 2015

Flowertime is a place for encounters between contemporary floral art, plants and Belgium craftmanship. Flowertime is organised by the City of Brussels, the Flower Carpet Association, the Floralies of Gantoises and a selection of florists from 13 to 16 August 2015.

Grand Place

Entrance decorated by De Groene Verbeelding with abstract nest filled with yellow callas. The flowers are from Holland (Geerlings & Zonen from Noordwijkerhout).

The Grand Place is the central square in the heart of Brussels. Surrounded by many historic houses, guild halls and two large buildings, the city’s Town Hall (from the 15th century) and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi) containing the Museum of the City of Brussels. The square is the most important tourist destination and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The entrance of Flowertime is right on the Grand Place. An avenue with hortensias and cypress trees was created with a reference to Italy. We entered though the gate to the inner courtyard of the City Hall and could feel the Mediterranean through the numerous oleanders and other plants from Southern Europe. De Groene Verbeelding, a flower arranging school from Mater decorated the square with abstract nests.

Inside City Hall

Due to so many visitors it was hard to capture the floral arrangements without people. I gave it some time, let people pass by with their cameras and iPads and discovered the staircase to the second floor. It was closed for public but decorated with little green apples. A splendid decoration missed by many because they followed the row to the centerpiece of the large corridor Italian shoe. Both arrangements designed by Karin van Damme & Els Van Landeghem from fabulousflowers.be

Mark Colle is also one of the participating florists. He created a flower installation in the Council Chamber. I loved the eggplants he added to the installation. Mark is well known in Belgium for his collaboration with major fashion designers like Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Raf Simons (Dior).

Design by Mark Colle — Flowerinstallation by Mark Colle

Dining table decorated in Italian Baroque Style

Absolute masterpiece was the dining table filled with gigantic vases full of flowers and small vases with all kinds of roses. Frederiek Van Pamel designed this in association with the Upcomming Florists.

Flower Carpet in 2016

A good reason to plan a visit to Brussels next year is the Flower Carpet, organised every 2 years in Brussels. The carpet full of colourful flowers was first made in 1971 and is organised every 2 years on the Grand Place in Brussels. A million begonias are set up in patterns, and the display covers a full 79 by 253 ft, in total 19,000 square feet.