The flower carpet in Brussels is the only one in the world! How to make a flower garden rug.

Every two years in Brussels in August, the central Grand Place is covered with a floral carpet. The carpet does not last long, only 4-5 days, and adorns the main square of the city in front of the city hall.

Photos by Petr Ushanov

A huge number of begonias are grown in Belgium. Dozens, if not hundreds of millions of pieces per year. 80% of flowers are exported. Begonia is a fairly hardy plant with brightly colored flowers.

In 1971, they decided to lay out a carpet on the central square of Brussels to show the beauty of begonias and, at the same time, draw attention to them. The carpet was called Ornemental Arabesques. The next carpet - "Parks and Gardens" - was staged in the Belgian capital three years later, in 1976. Then there were 1979, 1980, 1986, and then this holiday began to be regularly held every two years in even years (1988 , 1990, etc.).

A colorful evening on a gloomy day ... now the sky will shine and compete in beauty with a carpet

The carpet is made from cut begonias. One square meter requires about 300 flowers. Because cut begonias cannot lie outdoors for a long time; all preparatory operations have to be done very quickly. The flowers are cut in one day, packed in large boxes and delivered to the Grand Place, where they are laid on the carpet on the same day. A huge number of volunteers are invited for all these works.

Last year, the area of \u200b\u200bthe carpet was 1800 square meters... Africa was chosen as the topic. The carpet featured designs from tribes from Ethiopia, Congo, Nigeria, Botswana and Cameroon. The design of the carpet takes a couple of years. The fact is that you need to choose the colors of the patterns and grow the right amount corresponding begonias.

Why Africa? The organizers wanted to draw attention to this region full of interesting places, unusual tribes and their traditions.

There is one significant problem with the carpet - how to look at it in its entirety? Walking around the perimeter does not give a complete picture. At a certain time it was possible to climb the Town Hall. Fortunately, we managed to stay until dark. Unfortunately, the buildings on the right side of the square (relative to this frame) were under restoration, so I did not take a full panorama of the square.

The floral carpet isn't everything. Every evening at 22:00, 22:30 and 23:00 a "light show" was shown, and on the opening night there was also a "fireworks" ...

The African music light show was weird ...

And as for the fireworks at the opening, it was terrible. It all started with a sparkler, very caustic and very bright:

And the minute grassroots fireworks managed to burn through the spectators' clothes, backpacks and scorch their hair. Of course, if he flies out from behind and directly overhead ...

Well, and a lot of smoke, behind which nothing could be seen.

If you suddenly find yourself in Belgium in the second half of August next year, then stop by to look at the carpet is worth it. But the opening ceremony can be safely skipped.

View of the carpet from the House of the King (aka the Bread House):

Well, a little about the procedure for creating a carpet. As I said, cut begonias are delivered in large boxes (for some reason from bananas) to the Grand Place on the same day. There is already a marked substrate (similar to cellophane) on the square, on which the volunteers begin to lay flowers. The whole process takes about 6 hours. To prevent the flowers from drying out too quickly, they are watered periodically.

Volunteers and Reporters That's all for today.

Clearly and clearly identify the pattern or design using plants that are capable of providing a solid color effect. Basically, this effect is achieved by using foliage rather than flowers - only a few flowering plants have enough abundant flowers to produce the desired consistent result, although they are often used in combination with decorative foliage to create contrast and brightness.

Choose high quality deciduous plants to create your floral carpet. Plants should be healthy, vigorous, with an abundance of consistent color. Here is a selection of suitable plant species for creating a flower carpet:

• Coleus - in various shades of red, burgundy and scarlet, light and dark yellow, green and white, and other varieties.
• Achiranthes - a low-growing plant with an admixture of red, pink, yellow and green.
• Cornflower, "Dusty miller" - with strongly dissected silvery leaves.
• Alternantera - basically similar to Achiranthes, but the predominant color is red. Both plants are great for working out small parts constructions.
• Pyrethrum, "Golden feather" - with feathery leaves of a dark yellow color.
• Geranium Madame Celeron - with pale green and white foliage. It is an excellent plant for planting in a flower carpet, due to its closed and compact growth pattern, and it also has a very symmetrical shapethat persists throughout the season without clipping or circumcision.

Choose a layout. There are many possible options layout. This step provides you with some options to guide you. Some of them may seem quite complicated, but when you get down to business and start laying them out, all possible complications disappear. For everything except star and ring carpets, start with a pad, which will be the foundation of your next endeavor. Decide on the size of the carpet you want, mark the area as shown with the dotted lines in design # 1, and start filling it with details inside. If you do this, it will be much easier for you to achieve the creation of a floral carpet. Here are some ideas to inspire your sketch layout:

• Layout design 1 - easy to make, has many different combinations and modifications. The colors are best arranged according to your personal preference.
• Layout design 2 - boundaries define different spaces; a simple center with a simple point, as shown in (a), is the simplest carpet shape. In g, c, and d, these points have three different arrangements, and the dotted line in the center indicates changes that can be made to greatly improve the efficiency of the layout.
• Layout design 3
• Layout design 4
• Layout design 5
• Layout design 6
• Layout design 7 - the simplest form of carpet. It is projected for plants planted in rows. Flowering plants in such a carpet, you can use it more efficiently than in others. In such a combination, pink, white, and pale yellow phloxes look very beautiful.
• Layout design 8 - another very simple layout. Such a design will be very effective if coleus are planted in each section. different colors... Or, the entire star can be monochrome with a contrasting border. Red Coleus with Madame Seleron geraniums along the edge will look very beautiful. So is the yellow coleus, framed with cornflower.

Choose color combinations. Before deciding color combination, roughly sketch your chosen carpet design and paint over according to the materials you have to work with. Viewing these colors side-by-side on paper will give you a better idea of \u200b\u200bthe overall effect of all the combinations, test them, and avoid some major mistakes. Another useful alternative might be a computer design program. Here are some interesting combinations to consider:

• Ageratum, with its delicate lavender blue flowers, is very attractive in combination with yellow coleus
• A harmonious combination is made by pink geraniums surrounded by silvery cornflower
• Scarlet sage looks spectacular with yellow coleus
• The rich, dark green canna is an excellent centerpiece for carpet, in which red coleus serves as a background. Any varieties of dark copper colored varieties surrounded by yellow pyrethrum or silver cornflower have a good effect.

The famous carpet of fresh flowers has once again adorned the central square of Brussels - the Grand Place. A floral carpet has been laid out in the capital of Belgium every two years for four decades. This year, the area of \u200b\u200bthe giant "flower bed", planted by hand by a hundred Belgian florists in one day, amounted to more than 2 thousand square meters.

(17 photos total)

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1. The dimensions of the flower carpet this year were 24 by 77 meters. To create a colorful ornament that reflects the traditional patterns of African tribes from Ethiopia, Congo, Nigeria, Botswana and Cameroon, the designers took 800 thousand colorful begonias and tens of thousands of dahlias. (Xinhua / Landov / Barcroft Media)

2. Flowers - mainly begonias and dahlias - are carefully placed close to each other at 300 per square meter. (EPA / JULIEN WARNAND)

3. A huge flower puzzle was laid out for four hours. Begonias grown in the vicinity of the city of Ghent in the Belgian Flanders were chosen as a working material for a reason - they are able to withstand the vagaries of the weather. (GEORGES GOBET / AFP / GettyImages)

4. This year's carpet designs are based on vibrant African designs. It will be possible to admire the creation of florists for just five days, since only inflorescences were used when laying the carpet, and they fade quite quickly. (EPA / JULIEN WARNAND)

5. (GEORGES GOBET / AFP / GettyImages)

6. Preselected volunteers laid out flowers. Children especially like this process. (EPA / JULIEN WARNAND)

7. But not only ... (GEORGES GOBET / AFP / GettyImages)

8. The area of \u200b\u200bthe flower masterpiece is 1800 sq.m. (REUTERS / Francois Lenoir)

9. (EPA / JULIEN WARNAND)

10. The completion of work on the creation of a man-made miracle in the city hall on the Grand Place was marked by a gala reception for officials and journalists, and the sky above the square was illuminated by the lights of a pyrotechnic show to the sound of music. (EPA / JULIEN WARNAND)

11. (KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex Feature)

Fireworks and a light show opened the traditional flower carpet in the main square of Belgium.
But before the lights soared into the sky, a hundred volunteers worked over a carpet of 700 thousand begonias and dahlias for half a day.
This spectacle is very beautiful, repeated every two years.

For the first time I saw a carpet of fresh flowers in 2010 - I really liked it, so I decided to return to Brussels again to look at the updated version flower patterns

I don’t want to invent anything, so for information, I’ll just quote from ITAR-TASS :)

The main square of Brussels, Grand Place, was covered with a carpet of more than 700 thousand flowers. The creation of a floral carpet is a traditional event that takes place in the capital of Belgium every two years for five August days. This year main theme holiday has become Africa.

The picturesque landscapes of Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria and Ethiopia were taken as a basis. According to the organizers flower meadow, the black continent differs from the rest of the world with its cultural diversity and vibrant nature. The authors of the composition decided to emphasize the contrast between Europe and Africa.

It took months of work to prepare a living carpet with an area of \u200b\u200b1.8 thousand square meters, dozens of landscape architects and more than a hundred volunteers were involved. According to the organizers, there are 300-500 flowers for each meter of the exposition. The main element of the coating has traditionally become begonia, the beauty of which this year was diluted with specially brought from South America anthuriums.

3. The work is quite painstaking - they try to lay the flowers as tightly as possible so that they retain moisture for a longer time. Looking ahead, I will say that the carpet looked fresh for no more than a day, because by the evening of the second day, the flowers, which had been lying without water all day in the intense heat, had already begun to darken around the edges.

4. As always - there are at least two official photographers for every three employees :)
And it’s impossible to count how many unofficial ones (like me) pressed the button that day.

5. And this is how the flower carpet looked in finished form... This photo was taken the next morning from the balcony of the so-called "King's House", in which the kings, by the way, never lived, and where the city's museum is now located.

6. In the end, I got tired of staring at begonias, and I decided to walk along the nearby streets. It was much more interesting to watch people - some ate something, and the rest drank with pleasure :)

7. ... Can you tell me how to get to the library? :) Rather, to the "champagne library" (a Google translator gave me something like this when I didn't have enough imagination to translate the word Champagnothèque :) This lady sat for a long time table, doing painstaking bibliographic research :)

8. And this gentleman, without any frills, was drinking a more democratic, but no less tasty Belgian beer :)

9. Could I pass by the portrait of the magnificent Audrey Hepburn?

10. ... and then the beauties of Marilyn in the next window :)

11. Lovers of photography will understand what made me take this shot point-blank :)
The happy owner of Leica still did not see anything around except the subject of the photo :)

12. And the subject of photography, here it is - "a trumpeter blows out copper." One of the musicians of the orchestra that lit up at the opening of the show

13. And then the lights on the square were turned on and the flower carpet began to play with new colors.

14.

15. By the way, we immediately noticed that the pyrotechnics on the field were too close to the audience. But still, we did not expect that the burning pieces after the very first volleys would fly on our heads. We got off with burnt clothes and backpacks, and it could be worse!

16.

17. The next morning ...

18. I do not like diagonal angles, but what could I do - the spire of the city hall did not fit into the frame :)

19. A photo in the background - sometimes it is called a crossover :))

I still have a lot of pictures from this trip to Belgium (after all, on the second day I went to Ghent, and Brussels went to my favorite Magritte Museum and a bunch of exhibitions). But this is already in the next post ...

Since 1971 Every two years the main square of Brussels - Grand Place - for several August days turns into a blooming composite carpet of multi-colored begonias, attracting tourists from all over the world with its bright beauty and scale.

The initiator of the first festival was the landscape designer Etienne Stoutemas, who was engaged in the compilation of small flower arrangementssince the fifties of the last century. The idea was supported by the city authorities with the participation of the Brabant provincial authorities and the Les Franc-Bourgeois Stockbrokers Association. As a result of joint efforts, a non-profit community “Tapis de Fleurs de Bruxelles” appeared, which took upon itself the decision of organizational issues, drawing up the rules of the event and preparing for the next Flower Holidays.

Interesting facts about the Brussels flower festival

Huge carpet collected over 100 experienced gardeners and volunteers in just seven hours. Typically, work starts at five in the morning and ends at noon. A single flower arrangement always has the same dimensions:

• in length - 75 meters;
• wide - 24 meters;
• area - 1800 sq. meters.

Flower Carpet is made up of begonias, dahlias, herbs and bark. In total, more than 500 thousand colors are used. It is not by chance that begonia is chosen as the basis for making a carpet. In Belgium, she is associated with the national flower, and during the festival - with the queen of the holiday. The peculiarity of begonia lies in its endurance and unpretentiousness, a long flowering period and rich color palette - from snow-white and pastel shades to bright and saturated colors.

Belgium is the largest producer and exporter of tuberous begonias... The volume of deliveries is 35 million bulbs per year.

The development of each project of a flower carpet has been carried out for one and a half years. First, the theme is determined, after which a drawing competition is held. The selected composition is scaled and detailed, nuances are clarified, decisions are made about responsible suppliers and participants in the process. Graphic and landscape designers, artists and florists are involved in the work. The finished model is calculated required amount colors of certain shades. Their reservation is made in previously defined farms long before the date of the holiday.

A few days before the opening of the "Carpet of Flowers" festival, the outlines of the future composition are laid out on the Grand Place by means of micro-perforated plastic. The day before drawing up a flower carpet open spaces filled with peat mats. Flowers are placed very tightly so that the gusts of wind could not carry away the buds. To avoid shrinking plants in volume, in hot weather they are regularly watered. All these actions are carried out in order to keep the flower carpet fresh and attractive for four days.

The most stunning view of the composition opens from the balconies of the hotel located in the Town Hall building. According to eyewitnesses, only here the whole scale of the carpet is felt and its general idea is visible. An unforgettable experience is complemented by flower aromas and light and music shows floating in the air.

Floral carpet themes

Each time the organizers choose the theme of the festival "Carpet of flowers". Over the years it was dedicated to:

• french gardens;
• belgian symbols;
• african motives;
• turkish kilim;
• japanese traditions, etc.

In 2018, the theme of the Mexican city of Uryangato was chosen, in which every year on October 6, the streets are decorated with many kilometers of carpets made of multi-colored sawdust. In addition, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of the historic Grand Place in the UNESCO World Heritage List, on the territory of the Brussels Stock Exchange, during the festival, it was decided to post several flower paintings depicting the most beautiful sights in the world.

Flower Festival 2020 program

For the first time, residents and guests of the capital of Belgium saw the spectacular event in 1971. Since 1986, festivals have been held regularly - once every two years. It was determined 3-4 days in the month of August with reference to the closest to the Assumption Holy Mother of God weekend. This holiday is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church on 15 August.

In 2020, the Flower Carpet Festival is scheduled for 16.08 - 19.08. Visiting the exhibition "UNESCO Monuments in Flowers" is possible from 17.08 to 19.08. The opening schedule and the “Flower Carpet” program, as well as the time of admission to the balconies of the Town Hall, are presented on the official website. Here you can also familiarize yourself with the work of the exhibition "Unesco Monuments in Flowers", held as part of a spectacular event on the square of the Brussels Stock Exchange.

Every evening during the Carpet of Flowers festival, the Grand Place traditionally hosts concerts, light and music shows.

Floral carpet at the Grand Place in Brussels - Google Maps panorama

Ticket prices

The flower carpet at the Grand Place is completely free to see. An exception is the view of the square from the balconies of the Town Hall. Tickets can be bought:

• online - for € 5 (+ € 0.50 per booking);
• at the box office - for € 6.

In the first case, the priority access right is granted. Children under 10 years old are admitted free. The exhibition of paintings from flowers, located on the territory of the Brussels Stock Exchange, is free of charge.

Attractions in the square

The Carpet of Flowers Festival is held on the main square of the city - Grand Place, surrounded by architectural and historical monuments.

• Brussels City Hall is over 90 meters high, built in gothic style in the middle of the 15th century. Here is the city hall of the Belgian capital.
• The King's House was built in the first half of the 16th century on the site of the Bread House and restored in 1873. Since 1887, the building has housed the City Museum.

Medieval buildings are located around the perimeter of the main square of Brussels, many of which were damaged by 3 days of shelling in 1695. Most of them were subsequently restored. Today, the majestic neo-Gothic and neoclassical facades, decorated with sculptural compositions and tracery elements, create the unique look of the Grand Place and are a worthy frame for the unique "Carpet of flowers".

The square is full of cafes and restaurants, as well as shops specializing in the sale of Belgian chocolate. This high quality natural product is one of the business cards country and is considered the most delicious in the world.

You can read about the popular sights of Brussels in our article.

How to get to the Grand Place for the Carpet of Flowers festival

The nearest stops “Grand-Place” and “Beurs” (“Bourse”) of bus routes No. 33, 48, 95 are located on Rue du Lombard, 200 meters from the central square of the city. From trams 3, 4, 32 you should get off at the “Beurs” (“Bourse”) stop and walk about 300 meters.

The most big number buses reach the Central Station (Gare Centrale). Railway trains and subway trains also arrive here. You will have to walk about half a kilometer to the flower carpet. The same distance will need to be covered if you get off the metro at the De Brouckere station.

Cars and bicycles come to see the floral carpet. A covered car park is located at Rue du Marché Aux Herbes 120. Villo public bike rental station is nearby! In the capital of Belgium, you can use the UBER taxi services.

Video: How the "Carpet of Flowers" is created on a square in Brussels