Floralia Brussels at Château de Grand Bigard

In April 2012 in lieu of going to the Netherlands to see the tulip fields I visited Floralia Brussels at Château de Grand Bigard. “Getting there is easy. There are signs.” I was told. So I took the tram and ended up at the Grand Bigard Tram Stop which was on an empty residential street. The Tram conductor unhelpfully told me this was the stop and he did not know where the castle was.

 Two youths had gotten out so I asked them if they knew where the castle was. They looked at each other and laughed and admitted they had no idea there was a castle here but maybe if I walked down “that way” I would find it. So we walked with the two clueless if helpful local (?) boys walking ahead since we were going in the same direction.

It was a bit bizarre because the streets were empty. It was not spooky empty ... just empty like everyone was away empty. After a few minutes of empty streets we saw one of the illusive signs that I had been told marked the route.

This time we continued down an underpass and more empty streets which made me wonder where everyone was and if they might all be at the flower show or had been abducted by aliens or if it was just a very quiet small town. Then we came out of an empty stretch and suddenly we arrived at what had to be the commercial and administrative centre because there were shops, cafes, a church and a town hall. And there were people. Not many but enough to seek further directions. But then I saw the second sign as did my two helpful local boys who pointed at it and waved me goodbye as they continued on their way.

After a bit more of a walk I found the Château with a car park full of cars and buses. And people lots of people but thankfully the Château’s gardens are big and spread out enough that it was not chock a block with people. There was a little hut by the entrance where they were selling the tickets. You could buy a single day pass or a multiple day pass. I bought a single day pass but realised afterwards that I should have gotten a multiple day pass because there was no way I could see everything on one day.

As I said the grounds are big (hectares ) and I only realised afterwards that they had other plant displays indoors. And a special surprise in the tower which I did not get to visit so I never found out what the surprise was. But I did get to see lots of flowers: lots and lots of flowers.

They were mainly bulbs, tulips, hyacinths, muscari, Fritillaria Imperialis, wild tulips, violets, azaleas and rhododendrons, and others. Some had little signs giving the names but as I had not brought a notebook I did not bother reading many. I know, I should keep a photographer’s log.

They had set them up in various settings, which proved quite interesting and pleasing aesthetically. First there were the beds with one type of flower and colour. Then there were combinations of flowers of different but complimentary colours and then there were the swaths of what I can only call natural woodland flower mixes.

Over all it was a harmonious and complementary combination of flowers and colours. They also had a labyrinth and a French Garden. By the time I got to the French Garden I was most appreciative of being able to take pictures of flowers without the need to crouch down to take close ups or vary the angle of the shots. While taking photos of one bed earlier on I made the mistake of putting one knee down only to discover that the ground was soaking wet and icy cold.

All in all it was all quite brilliantly done and when you realise that all these thousands of bulbs were planted by hand and deliberately planned to achieve a certain look it is impressive. Another interesting thing about the flower show which shows the thought and expertise that went into it is the inclusion of early flowering, midseason and late flowering plants. This means that not only will you be getting constant flowers over the month long period in which the Floralia runs but it also means that the whole display would shift and change as time passed with different flowers and colours emerging. When I realised that, I really regretted not having bought a multiple entry pass.

 Another reason for regretting not buying a multiple entry pass was that my batteries died too soon. This was partly due my having taken only three sets of batteries and also due to the cold which apparently affects the batteries. I ended up taking the batteries out and warming them up between my hands between shots. This actually worked and enabled me to eek out quite a few extra shots although it became tiresome having to constantly take the batteries out to warm them up. And eventually no amount of warming up worked. That was when I reluctantly left.

Aside from the plants planted outside there was an indoor exhibition in a 1000 square foot greenhouse. These comprised of indoor garden flower arrangements. But I did not even get around to see these and actually because I was too busy taking pictures and did not read the pamphlet I only realised that there were more flowers to see after I left.

In retrospect I would have done several things differently:

1.       First of all I would have come earlier not only to get more time but also for the lighting as some there were some shots I could not take due to the direction of the light. Yes I know there probably is a way but I am not that advanced in photography and besides it was not just the light but the angle that I wanted to take the photo was directly into the sun.

2.       Secondly I would have come with lots more batteries and maybe even tried to get hold of one of those pocket warmers I read about that can be used to keep the batteries warm. Although I definitely need to read up more on taking photos in cold weather because aside from the dead batteries I want to avoid any problems with condensation in the camera.

3.       Thirdly I would probably bring more equipment. Okay when I say more equipment I have to admit the only other camera equipment I have is my camera stand with the telescopic legs. But still having that would have helped a bit as taking photos in the cold is not easy it would have made it easier to take photos at some awkward angles and especially the close ups and close to the ground shots. I would also bring small board or something waterproof to kneel on. I did have my umbrella and a plastic bag to stick my camera in, in-case it rained which thankfully it did not. One reason I did not take the stand with me was for fear of looking like a tourist. I know silly but it is a holdover from my time in Hawaii where people deliberately avoid doing anything that might make people mistake them for tourists. But at the gardens there were quite a few people taking serious photos. There was even a TV camera crew there. No one seemed to find it odd and actually unlike other places most people seemed conscious and respectful of the people taking photos. When I say respectful I mean that if they saw you were lining up a shot they would pause and wait for you to take it instead of just continuing to walk and getting in the way. All the photographers including me were very appreciative of that as it enabled you to take your shots and move on rather than wait ages before you had a clear shot.

4.       Another thing would be to do a bit more research on what there was to see so that I do not miss anything and if necessary can better organise my schedule and go on several visits as this obviously merited. Frankly taking the changing floral arrangements over time and the amount of flowers to see I would probably have been able to spend 4 weekends and not quite see all there was to see. Fortunately there are restaurant and toilet facilities so you could actually spend the whole day there if you really wanted although as I mentioned the village centre is close by and I saw several pubs around where you could get a bite to eat and a drink as well.

5.       Finally I would take a notebook to at least take some notes of what the flowers names were. Apparently some were rare or new varieties.

Additional Facts:

Floralia Brussels is a yearly event held in early April through till early May at the Grand-Bigard from 10AM – 6PM. Note the ticket booth closes at 5PM.

It is a spring flower exhibition held throughout the grounds of Grand-Bigard which comprise of about 1 million bulbs planted by hand in approximately 14 hectares. According to the official website there are 500 varieties including 400 tulip varieties. Among the other bulbs are hyacinths, daffodils and are arranged by Maarten and Pieter Bakker who are descendants of a famous family Dutch bulb producers.

The park is accessible to people with reduced mobility and dogs are allowed on a leash but owners are expected to pick up after their charges.

There is a cafeteria that sells sandwiches, salads, cold dishes as well as a daily special dish or from the menu. Reservation is necessary for groups. I did not go in so I cannot comment on what it is like.

Entrance Fees are:

Adults - 10 €
Children  (6-14 years) - 5 €
Children less than 6 - 0 €
Groups more than  20 people 9 € (per person)
Passe-Partout - 15 €

 Grand-Bigard (French-Château de Grand-Bigrad /Dutch-Groot-Bijgaarden) is located in the village of Grand-Bigard in Flemish Brabant (7km west of Brussels) in Belgium.

The information that I found about Grand-Bigard was a little confusing probably due to what I think are errors in translation. If you have a burning interest in linguistics and translations issues etc please feel free to visit my blog The Blood of Souls dedicated to issues related to language, translation, and etymology.

In essence Grand-Bigard dates from the 12^th Century and is surrounded by a moat.

The stately home was built in the 17^th Century and is considered a fine example of the Flemish Renaissance.

The Keep dates from the 12^th Century. This is a fortified tower which was built around 1347 with walls two meters thick and is composed of four stories rising up to thirty meters.

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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You can visit their official site by going to this link http://www.grandbigard.be/en

Resuming Flora and Fauna Blog

Sorry I have not been updated this blog for a while. Since moving I have been trying to decide if I should temporarily stop posting to this blog or delete it and just start another blog since I do not have a garden of my own anymore. I was thinking of starting a new log to post photographs of plants and flowers I have seen in the varrious places I have visited as well as photographs of interesting and beautiful buildings.
But then I came across a whole folder full of photographs I took of my plants in Samoa. So I have decided that for now I am going to recommence posting to this blog. First I will upload the plant and flower photographs from Samoa. Then I will start posting other plant and flower photographs.
I am still undecided on what to do with the photographs of buildings but am probably going to set up another blog for that and incorporate some other elements such as food, historical sites and culture.


Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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Rain Lilies and kittens

I know that in the the song it is"rain drops on roses" but I have no roses although I do have whiskers on kittens and lots of Rain Lilies (Zepheranthes). The rainy season started and a whole bunch of the Pink Rain Lilies sent up flower buds
and then bloomed.

When this pot flowered I brought it inside and put into a blue ceramic pot for a couple days as well as photograph it.

It was a bright sunny day and at first I thought that I might have problems with the photographs but these actually turned out alright.

The camera kept insisting that I used the flash but I think that these turned out quite nice. I admit I had to do some manoeuvrings with tables and books to get the right angles and keep all the unfinished renovations out of the picture.

Although I planted patches of Pink Rain Lilies in anticipation of spectacular swathes of pink flowers. I also planted little clumps in holes in the front lawn where some clumps of an undesirable species of grass had been dug up from. Some of these sent up a few flowers too. While not a swathe of colour they were still quite eye catching.

The kittens were running around outside having fun after the rain on both occasions and just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The tortoiseshell is Jasper (formerly Jasmine) while the ginger is Ichigo and the Mackerel Tabby is Dee Dee. Tweedle the other Mackerel Tabby did not feel like being photographed as she was busy climbing a tree.

 They do not even look like they are posing. Talk about professional models.
I should sign them up.



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Ground cover and recalcitrant canines

Okay it has been a while. First I moved in before work on the house at Alafua was completed. Although the contractor and his men have been gone a while now they have not quite completed all what they were supposed to do so the place is not exactly all ready. The main problem is the wiring as well as the lights and electrical outlets of the kitchen, bathroom and toilets have yet to be installed among a few other things.

However, that is all out of my control so I have been busy with the "landscaping" which at the moment means planting as many of the plants that need to be transplanted into the ground (rather than other pots or poly bags). It also means planting a hedge or rather several hedges and plant barriers between the various neighbours, the road front and the access road that runs down the back of the property to the creek.

I started by transplanting Flame violets (Episcia) as ground cover around the side where the bedrooms are and along the front of the house that looks out down the street. I have two varieties one with green leaves and bright red flowers
and another with burgundy leaves and pink flowers.

I have had to put cocoa wire over them to keep the four resident dogs (the owner has not come to take them yet) from digging the plants up. I had to rake and remove a whole lot of stones, bones and other rubbish from the area. The dogs were used to digging the soil up and making themselves nice soft beds there as well as all around the house. So far the cocoa wire has kept them off the plants and most have not only recovered but are flowering and look on their way to establishing a nice ground cover.

Unfortunately for some reason the burgundy leaved Flame violets do not seem to be doing too well. Admittedly I did not have that many of them to start off with and very few of those were in top condition. I suspect that the fact that the area these are in has a lot more sun may be a factor.

I also took some Heliconia and Hedychium from Malifa to plant at Alafua.

I planted them both on the side of the bedrooms along the fence with the Helliconia along the fence and the Hedyciums further in. The Heliconia were Heliconia caribea which are the giant ones. One of the varieties I am certain is a cream and the other I am not so sure but is alot more showy than the cream. Once they grow into a decent sized stand they will provide a tall leafy  screen and produce nice flowers as well.

For the Hedychium I have three varieties so far and decided to plant the Yellow Hedychium (Hedychium flavenscens) in this location because they have very big flower heads and a strong scent. The other two varieties seem to be Hedychium coronarium since it is white and the other is sort or salmon coloured but I have not been able to identify it yet. I think it is Hedychium augustiflolium "Peach" I will also plant these two at Alafua although I am not sure when or where. I may try planting some along the creek bank which has been greatly eroded over the last 20 years since I used to go swiming and exploring there.


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Glorious Lilies

I bought one plant about a year ago now. Since then it had new plantels and I divided it transplanted them. Now two are flowering. Sorry I have no idea what they are called.

I have moved since my last post and have done quite a bit of planting since then. I had to move all the plants I had at Fagalii Uta to our house at Alafua.

I had planted some pink Zepheranthes and Flame violets (Episcia) in the ground at the house at Fagalii Uta. I had intended to leave them for the next tenant but then thought that knowing how some people operate they might weed them out so I decided to take them out. Unfortunately on the day that I was going to dig them up the people who look after the property i.e. take care of the grass etc who had been in the process of mowing the grass and trimming the hedges had added a new thing to their activities: spraying the strip around the house with herbicide!

I guess it makes sense as it kills those hard to reach plants against the houses. Unfortunately this included the strip of Zepheranthes I had decided I should remove. I guess my prescience was correct but I did not act in time.

To make it worse there are cats and dogs in the neighbourhood and when my neighbour who has three dogs and a cat complained they ignored her concerns that the pets might get poisoned as well.


Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.
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