This weekend something very special is happening in Belgium. It only comes around every other year: The Flower Carpet. This Belgian tradition started in 1971 with the first Flower Carpet being laid in the famous Grand Place of Brussels. Begonias are the star flower. They are packed together one by one, 300 to every square meter of ground, (+/- 750,000 flowers). They are packed tightly (no soil is used at all) so that they won’t be blown away by the first puff of wind. They even create their own microclimate.
I’m in Brussels for the month of August so I decided to go check out the making of the carpet. It is planned months in advance, while the execution and placement of the flowers takes around seven hours. It was a stormy day in Brussels, but the volunteers were still out placing each begonia in its specified place!
To see more travel photos, check out Briefcase to Backpack’s Photo Friday!
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
