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Belgium in bloom
Whether you want to fix your garden or visit another, don’t do a thing until you’ve read our indispensable guide
Garden shows
APRIL 13-15
Parc du Château d’Enghien, Enghien
More than 15,000 visitors are expected at one of the country’s largest garden fairs where more than 150 horticulturalists, architects and garden designers will show off their wares. Explore the four-hectare 17th-century park and pick up new skills with numerous workshops and talks. Entertainment includes a guided tour of the park in a model train and castle visits.
Friday 14.00-19.00, Saturday & Sunday 10.00-19.00; €7
APRIL 20 ONWARDS (VARIOUS DATES)
La Feuillerie, Celles
Every year this beautiful, landscaped 1.5-hectare park in Celles, near Tournai, hosts four garden-themed events. On April 20 to 22 and September 29 and 3o there will be a rare and collectors’ plants fair (the April edition is the 50th). On May 5 to 6 there will be a fair featuring flowering rhododendrons and azaleas, and from June 1 to 3, there’s an antiques and garden decor fair.
Opening times vary; €8
MAY 4-6
Les Jardins d’Aywiers, Lasne
Set in the seven-hectare English park of the Cistercian abbey, Aywiers is one of the most popular garden fairs in Belgium. This year’s event is the 20th , and the peony will be the special “guest” flower. With about 190 professional nurseries, landscape gardeners and other experts on hand to advise you, there will also be visits of the abbey, boat trips, pony rides, workshops and tree climbing on hand to entertain you.
Friday 13.00-18.30, Saturday & Sunday 10.00-18.00; €8 per day, €10 for the weekend
MAY 11-13
Beervelde Park, Ghent
Beervelde Garden Days is a biannual garden fair with some 200 horticulturalists from Belgium and abroad taking part. This year, Vietnam is welcomed as the host country and bamboo is the theme (the World Bamboo Congress takes place in Antwerp from April 10 to 15). Visitors can also pick up a large choice of garden decor at cheaper prices than in the UK or France.
10.00-18.00; €10
MAY 19-20
Festival des Plantes, Namur
Biannual plant festival held in a three-hectare English-style garden in the grounds of Château de Beez, right by the River Meuse. You will find a selection of plants, bulbs, perennials and wild plants from 50 specialist nurseries.
Saturday & Sunday 10.00-18.00; €7
UNTIL OCTOBER 7
Floriade, Venlo (the Netherlands)
Ok, so it’s not Belgium, but only two hours’ drive from Brussels is the biggest garden show of them all. Floriade is an absolute must-visit for garden lovers; a world horticultural expo that’s so special it only takes place every 10 years. As well as five themed worlds, Floriade features 100 gardens and pavillions on 68 hectares of land with flora and fauna from all over the globe.
Day passes from €25
Gardens & parks
BRUSSELS
Royal Greenhouses, Laeken
These splendid 19th-century greenhouses are open for just three weeks each spring displaying giant palms and ferns from Africa, azaleas, orchids and rare floral treasures. Don’t miss it.
April 13-May 6 (see www.opt.be for times)
Jardin Botanique
Between Rue Royale and Boulevard Léopold II, right in the heart of the city, lie beautiful terraced gardens in a 19th-century glass and wrought-iron palace. Visit the Brussels-Capital Region website for details of other gardens in Brussels.
Daily 9.00-18.00
Erasmus House
In the grounds of Erasmus House and the Beguinages of Anderlecht are two extraordinary gardens: one full of medicinal plants and a second ‘philosophical’ garden which also contains a number of ‘philosophical rooms’ shaped by modern artists.
Daily except Monday, 10.00-18.00; free
HALLERBOS
Bluebell carpet
For just a few weeks every spring, Belgium is home to the most extraordinary sight as the woodland floor of the Hallerbos just outside Brussels turns into a carpet of wild bluebells. Visit the Q&A forum on The Bulletin’s website for an update on when to go, but don’t procrastinate: if you miss the three-week window, you’ll have to wait until next year.
Chemin du Bois de Halle, www.thebulletin.be
LIMBURG
Orchard blooms
Limburg is quite literally blooming lovely at this time of the year. Not only is its capital, Hasselt, home to the largest Japanese garden in Europe (see www.thebulletin.be for the full story), with about 250 Japanese cherry trees, but huge swathes of the southern part of the province are covered in apple and pear trees, so for a few weeks every year, the Haspengouw area is blanketed in fruit blossoms. The provincial and city tourist offices organise orchard walks, Vespa tours and culinary events such as the Blossom Lounge in Sint-Truiden.
GROOT-BIJGAARDEN
Floralia
The ninth annual floral exhibition takes place at Groot-Bijgaarden castle between April 6 and May 6. It features more than 500 varieties of flowers including 400 types of tulip, plus a 1,000m2 greenhouse, several gardens, a flower labyrinth and an indoor flower exhibition that will change weekly. As well as viewng, you can also buy a selection of flowers.
Daily 10.00-18.00; €10
MEISE
National Botanical Garden of Belgium
Bouchout castle is the setting for Belgium’s national botanical gardens, which include exhibitions in a 92-hectare park. It has one of the richest plant collections in Europe with herbs, medicinal plants, shrubs, conifers and trees plus tropical plants in the Plant Palace. There is a Bonsai exhibition between April 6 and 15 and free horse and carriage tours of the grounds every Sunday between April and September.
Daily 9.30-18.30 (until September 1); €5
SINT-PIETERS-LEEUW
Coloma Castle
This moated castle is now a cultural centre surrounded by a magnificent rose garden with around 3,000 varieties, making it one of the largest collections in Europe.
Tuesday-Friday 10.00-20.00 (May 15-October 30); free
NAMUR-DINANT
Annevoie Gardens
Eighteenth-century gardens that combine English and Italian styles and consist of various elaborate water features, including waterfalls and fountains, a children’s playground and even a raspberry garden.
Daily 9.30-18.30 (March 31-November 4); €7.80
HAINAUT
Pairi Daiza
For the uninitiated, Pairi Daiza near Mons is Wallonia’s second biggest tourist attraction. It is a gargantuan botanical garden (and zoo) with an authentic Indonesian park and Europe’s largest Chinese park.
Daily 10.00-18.00 (until November 4); adults €24, children €19
Garden centres
BRUSSELS
Pépinières de Boitsfort
Huge gardening shop with a good variety of quality plants and helpful, knowledgeable staff who can also provide garden maintenance service. On May 19, there’s an aquatic garden focus with a large choice of water plants on sale and free pond water testing.
76 Ave des Archiducs, tel 02.672.51.51 www.pepiniere.be
Monday-Friday 8.00-18.00, Saturday 8.00-17.00
La Serre Outil
Garden centre with plants and organic products plus garden maintenance service with tree felling and pruning. As an ‘Entreprise de Travail Adapté’, the non-profit centre employs people with disabilities.
377 Chaussée de Stockel, tel 02.762.80.73
Tuesday-Saturday 10.00-18.00
Indemans
The complete antithesis of the gardening superstore, this tiny treasure trove of a garden shop is run by a charming elderly couple who offer sound advice as well as a warm welcome. They sell flowers and plants, seeds and gardening tools.
1122 Chaussée de Waterloo, tel. 02.374.13.32
Monday 14.30-18.30, Tuesday-Saturday 8.30-12.30 & 13.30-18.30, Sunday 9.00-13.00
ROSIÈRES
Central Jardin
Garden centre with full range of products including more than 500 rose varieties plus garden design and home delivery. There are also stores in Genappe and Grez-Doiceau.
110 Rue de l’Institut, tel 02.653.54.78
WATERLOO
L’Araucaria
Family-run garden centre in the heart of Waterloo. Garden furniture, outdoor play equipment and outdoor decor.
485a Chaussée de Bruxelles, tel 02.384.00.38 www.laraucaria.be
Tuesday-Friday 10.00-12.00 & 13.00-8.00, Saturday 10.00-18.00
HALLE
Ecoflora
Organic nursery in the stable of an old farm that specialises in the production of native wild plants, aromatic and medicinal plants, naturalised bulbs, water plants, fruit trees and shrubs. Natural pesticides and organically grown vegetable plants are sold alongside potting soils and seed mixes.
671 Ninoofsesteenweg, tel 02.361.77.61
Tuesday-Friday 9.00-18.00, Saturday 9.00- 13.00
Fab outdoor furniture
1. Yoda sofa
Kenneth Cobonpue’s modular sofas are made from natural fibres like rattan and abaca, and can be manipulated into myriad configurations. Prices start at €2,080, available from online boutique Design Arenas
2. HÅLLÖ cushions
Channel your inner seadog with these reversible, nautical striped outdoor cushion pads from Ikea. A cheap and cheerful addition to any garden, at just €19.95
3. Adirondack chair
We love this Adirondack chair from Belgian furniture company Grizzly Gardens. Not only does it come in 15 colours but it’s also made from recycled plastic (each chair is made from 500 plastic bottles). €399
4. Cake 80 pouf
Not only can you have your cake and eat it, but you can sit on it too with this outdoor pouffe from Alain Berteau. Practical, playful and easily movable, it’s on sale at Wildspirit for €350
5. Lastika chair
This simple but innovative chair by Italian brand Lago is made with 40 elastic belts and a metal, tubular frame. Contact Lago for price.
www.lago.it
