We’ve all heard of a red carpet, but in Belgium there is one even more luxurious! This August a carpet made entirely from flowers will fill the Grand Place in Brussels, Rosie Khdir takes a look.

For almost forty years, Brussels has rolled out a floral carpet in its famous square, thanks to the landscaping of architect E. Stautemans in 1971, but the origins of the carpet began in the Flanders region.

After graduating from the Ghent Horticultural College, E. Stautemans had been experimenting with making simple small carpets made from begonias. He quickly realised that floral carpets would be an excellent way of promoting the flowers that he loved so much.

After years of creating these carpets, Stautemans was soon in demand; he made beautiful begonia creations for cities all over the world including Hamburg, Luxemburg, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Buenos Aires.

Many carpets were larger than the one the one of Brussels, but E. Stautemans stated:

“Nowhere is the carpet more beautiful and distinguished than in the unique, ancient surroundings of the Grand-Place in Brussels”.

The carpet will cover almost 20,000 square feet in the centre of the Grand Place and will be there from 13th – 15th August, 2010.

This year 23-year-old designer Antione Durieux will be creating a carpet celebrating the European Union with a range of colourful begonias.

The best view of the carpet is from the balcony of Hotel de Ville, which is open to the public from 9 am to 11 pm.

If you want to take a look at this floral phenomenon then P&O Ferries can get you there. A Dover to Calais crossing starts from just £30 for a car and up to nine people and from there it is just a short drive to Brussels.

Image: © Labo River

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