A day at Meise Botanic Garden
On a sunny, kind of Indian Summer, day in October I went to Meise, which is situated north of Brussels, to visit the Botanic Garden. It’s a splendid domain of 92 hectares where no less than 20 000 species grow from all over the world. It was really a feast for all my senses and I hugely enjoyed every moment.
Will you join me on an adventure in this garden full of history and autumn beauty?
My first stop was at ‘Het Plantenpaleis’, these glass houses were built in 1958. They’re one of the biggest and most beautiful accessible glass houses of Europe. It was really an impressive and outstanding building complex. There was a second floor so I could walk among the tops of high palm trees and other tropical plants. Such an enchanting experience!
My main reason to come to this botanical garden and especially these glass houses was to do some research for an upcoming exposition at Keramion in Frechen, Germany in 2024. I will make new work around the theme ‘Welcome to the jungle’. So I was very curious to dive into the world of rainforest plants and learn more about them. I wasn’t disappointed and went home with lots of ideas!
As I followed my way through the glass house, I came into the mediterranean garden with beautiful plants and species I hadn’t seen before. As the sun warmed this place and scents were lingering in the air, it made me feel like I was in the south of Europe for a while!
Another place in the rainforest is this great water basin where Asian giant water lilies grow. Such an inspiring shape and look how beautiful their texture look in the sunlight, revealing every detail!
Since the Middle Ages, there were 2 castles in this garden. One of Meise and the other one is this Castle of Boechout, surrounded by water. Both lords had redeveloped their domain into English landscape gardens. They were both enthusiastic garden lovers. So it’s clearly a place rooted in history and with a long tradition of garden design.
Inside one can discover the history of the botanical garden with old species, notes and antique botanical books. I hadn’t enough time to read everything but I will definitely come back to find out more as this is such an interesting subject for me. I love the combination of nature and history. That’s what makes this botanical garden so special in my opinion. There are so many traces of a rich history and at the same time it’s just such a green and wide domain with an impressive amount of trees, plants and flowers. An endless world to get lost in and learn about!
Views through the trees, winding paths, picturesque bridges, ancient decorative buildings, tree-lined avenues, wide views and a hilly landscape, … . The botanic garden of Meise has it all and I really loved the variety.
Beautiful flowers and colours in the Culinary Garden. So much diversity and delicious vegetables to discover in this sunlit and walled garden.
It seems as if there came no end at the beauty and history in this garden! At the end of my walk I arrived at the Balatkas which is built in 1854 by the same architect who also designed the Royal Greenhouses in Laken.
In the 19th century the Industrial Revolution also left her mark in the world of the garden architecture. Technicians succeeded to built glass houses with steel trusses and flat glass plates through which the sunlight could enter. And this glass house is a perfect example of this, combined with a little romanticism!
My day has ended here in this amazing garden where I could have spent much more time. I really enjoyed wandering around, being surrounded by so much natural beauty and rich history. I will surely come back in another season!
If you would ever be in the opportunity to visit this garden, I hugely recommend it! Take your time for a visit as you can easily spend a whole day here.They have a nice coffee bar or you can also eat something in the Orangerie. Or take a picknick with you and enjoy it on a bench while enjoying the view.
