Celebrating May Day in Belgium
May 2, 2007 at 6:36 Tuesday was Labor Day here in Belgium but in the U.S., it’s a lesser known holiday called May Day, one that traditionally celebrates the arrival of spring and the beauty of flowers.
So while E had the day off from his labors, we decided to celebrate May Day by touring the Royal Greenhouses in Laeken. We arrived early under spotless blue skies and snagged a coveted parking place in the lot across from the entrance to the Royal Palace grounds. A queue had already formed, and we joined it as buses pulled up and sent throngs of tourists into our midst.
Being over 40, there aren’t many times in my life when I get to feel young. Garden tours are one of them. There’s nothing like being surrounded by the silver-haired, liver-spotted, orthopedic-shoe wearing masses to make me feel spry. Yes, there were some younger couples there with children but for the most part the greenhouse tourists were comprised of folks collecting retirement checks. (Don’t remind me that that will be me before I know it. Let me imagine a huge chasm separates me from the cane-carrying crowd.)
E has always been a gardener, even when he was a buff 23-year-old bachelor working his first full-time job. The sun-bleached blonde hair and deep tan might have led you to believe he hung out on the beach paddling a surfboard, but in reality he got that look weeding and hoeing in his garden. Before we were married, I was afraid he'd be lured off by some Grrrl with great bulbs, but instead he married me, the non-gardener. It's true, love is blind. My friend Mark used to say it was also deaf, dumb, and stupid, but I digress. Back to the king's green houses...
Having visited vast and showy gardens like Keukenhof in Holland, we were expecting something along the lines of wall to wall flowers. However, the beauty of the Royal Greenhouses lies as much in the architecture as anything else—the graceful curves of the metal work, the vaulted passageways, the dramatic dome in the main building, the unexpected vistas along the way.
Stepping into the orangery and smelling the impossibly sweet fragrance of orange blossoms, one is transported into a lush, tropical world. The myriad specimens and varieties of plants that follow on the tour aren’t identified with placards but are undeniably exotic.
Yes, the glass tunnels with six-foot tall geraniums climbing the walls and fuchsia blossoms dripping from the ceiling were magical and colorful, but often what impressed me as I walked through the displays was the variety of foliage, and the multitude of shapes and textures in the plants.
Some leaves were puckered like seersucker, others were curly, and some were crinkled like a receipt jammed into a pants pocket. A ground covering of short-stemmed plants was like a lime-colored frisé carpet and begged to be touched. The woody stem of a tropical tree was alarmingly hairy at its base, not unlike an orangutan’s back. It contrasted with the cool, smooth bark of another tree. There were plant leaves so enormous they could be umbrellas except that they sported natural drainage holes along their central stem. Pointed, rounded, scalloped, lacy, and ruffled—the foliage was like elaborate fashion trimmings draped by a skilled designer.
We shuffled along with the other visitors, pointing our camera this way and that until the batteries died. Of course shortly after that happened, we passed through corridors and rooms with unexpected views and lovely classical statuary. One statue of a naked cavalier wearing nothing but a feathered hat and holding a riding crop made me nudge E and knowingly arch my eyebrow.
He pretended not to notice. I suppose his mind was on the flowers. Mine was elsewhere—I really wish I could have shown y'all that naughty cavalier.
May 1, 2007
© 2007 Veronica McCabe Deschambault and V-Grrrl in the Middle. All rights reserved.
Reader Comments (11)
To top it all off, I also visited the Royal "Chinese Tower" and joined the crowds who lined up to visit the Brussels atomium.
Being "surrounded by the silver-haired, liver-spotted, orthopedic-shoe wearing masses" turned out to be a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of riverside Antwerp - even more amazing: the young children visiting the Royal greenhouses were extremely well-behaved. Remarkable ;)
Stay tuned for my slideshow, although did I notice it's kind of hard to come up with real original shots in a place that has been photographed a million times from every angle.
Like Di, I'm slightly puzzled how you managed to take the doorway shot: guess that waiting for a crowd-free moment really takes some luck (or patience)
Peter, I didn't get to the Chinese Tower.
We've visited the Atomium more than once. On a clear day like today, I can see the Atomium from my attic window. It really is a marvel.
I regret being unable to use my shot of the cavalier from the Royal greenhouses: the quality was lousy (statue way too small in the distance).
I learned one valuable lesson: when visiting greenhouses, try to take original shots. I ended up with what mostly looks like a flower catalog - kind of repetitive.
They really should sell post cards featuring the cavalier. Manneken Pis grows up--and he's still a naughty, naughty boy!