Updated on December 23, 2022 by pierre

Flower Carpet Brussels 2016 @Grand Place

History of the Flower Carpet

The first carpet of flowers was born in Brussels from the landscape architect, Etienne Stautemans, who was himself inspired by other carpets of flowers from various Flemish cities. Since 1971, the design of the flower carpet has not been thought out lightly or even randomly. Every two years, the non-profit organization flower carpet » gathers his committee to imagine the carpet. In the end, it will be illustrators, graphic designers, landscape designers as well as more than a hundred volunteer gardeners who will come to assemble this giant floral puzzle. In less than four hours, they will be able to assemble the entire mat.

A meticulously crafted carpet of flowers

Each year, the Flower Carpet illustrating a different theme at each edition (the commemoration of major events, a country, a continent, the coat of arms of a city, etc.). Once the theme has been drawn in the form of a model, the team calculates the number of flowers as well as the color combinations. In total, hundreds of thousands of flowers will be cut because necessary for the composition of the famous carpet.

Shortly before the opening to the public, the life-size drawing is placed on micro-perforated plastic on the surface of the cobblestones of the Grand-Place to represent the carpet. Then, a lawn is rolled out between the floral motifs to fill in the gaps. In total, the 2016 flower carpet will count 300 flowers per square meter. In total, no less than 600.000 flowers adorn the main square of Brussels. The carpet of flowers does not cover the entire Grand Place but occupies a space 75 m long by 24 m wide.

The maintenance that follows its creation is quite substantial. In wet weather, the grass can even grow 4 to 5 centimeters in just 3 days.

Flower Carpet 2016

From 12 to 15 August 2016, the Grand-Place in Brussels will host the 20nd edition of flower carpets. If you pass by, be sure to come and contemplate this ephemeral spectacle on one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Access to the balcony to admire the carpet of flowers in height is on AUGUST 12, 2016: FROM 13 PM TO 18 PM or from AUGUST 13 TO 15, 2016: from 10 AM TO 22 PM

Flower Carpet 2016 Live webcam on the main square

The city of Brussels shows the flower carpet 2016 via a webcam on the internet. Click here to see the flower carpet live.