Belgium Trip
April 22-May 1, 2005
 

April 24th Floralies, Geert Pattijn, Wirtz Gardens at Hostellerie Shamrock

Photos courtesy of Liliane Opsomer

We met for our departure to Ghent. On the way we visited the highlight of our tour, Floralies www.floralien.be Held only once every five years, this was a delight to the senses and eyes as I am sure you can see by the pictures. This was the 33rd Floralies of Ghent and it opened April 14th of this year. The lighting is such that you feel you are walking around the displays on a bright summer day. It was also wonderful to see that Canada had a display there in their Mosaicultures exhibit from Montreal. This was the first time mosaicultures were displayed at Floralies.

Then to the home and design studio of Geert Pattijn, a florist extraordinaire. After a delightful lunch he then proceeded to show us five different floral designs.so simple and yet so elegant. A signed book of his, 'Floral Interior Decoration' was our treat to take home to remember his visit by.

Our final visit of the day was to Wirtz Gardens at Hostellerie Shamrock in the Flemish Ardennes www.host-shamrock.be We enjoyed visiting with the owners and a visit to the garden made by the famous designer Jacques Wirtz - who had even been asked by Francois Mitterrand to help restore the gardens of the Elysee and the Tuileries - before setting down to a wonderful dinner. Lit up at night, the gardens are magical. This was a hunting lodge at one point, built in 1928 for baron de Kemmeter and now has five guestrooms that are all very posh, befitting the Relais & Chateaux clients.

Our hotel the next three evenings was Hotel Montgomery in Brussels www.montgomery.be A beautiful property with 61 luxury rooms and 2 penthouses close to shopping and sightseeing.