200 Years & Counting: The Gent Flower Show

Anybody who has ever lived in Colorado will inevitably have heard advertisements for the biggest rodeo of the summer, Cheyenne Frontier Days (located, as you might suspect, in the neighboring state of Wyoming). They describe it as being the "Granddaddy of 'Em All". Why would I bring that up in this particular post? Well, the Gent Flower Show could easily co-op this phrase for itself.

This incredible show first began over 200 years ago(!!!), and now features 4.5 hectares (±11 acres) of plantings traversed by 2 km of walking paths! (Here's a link to some more figures for those closet statisticians among you) It. Was. Enormous. And also beautiful, interesting, unusual, and overwhelming.

Several different friends mentioned the show to me, but ultimately I ended up going with two girls from my book club, Ana and Cat. We took the train to Gent (a quick 30 minute's ride from Brussels) and after a lovely lunch canal-side, we set off for the show.



The show was like a meeting of gardening, landscape architecture, horticulture, plant collecting, and art. There was everything from traditional plant displays to ideas for weddings and events, backyard and garden designs, plant sculptures, and rare and exotic flowers. We bought our tickets online, and we were glad we did because there were SO many people at this show. It only runs for one week, every five years, and apparently the entire country attends.



This is not the line to get in, but rather just the people on the walking path through the exhibition hall.



A particularly beautiful 'phalaenopsis' orchid. This is the type of orchid I grow, though obviously not as prolifically or perfectly as these.



Who knows what these actually are, but we thought they looked like miniature Christmas trees!



The Atomium, but made of flowers!!!



This was in the section of "tablescapes" for weddings and events. I liked the way the flower balls looked set against the crystal and silver.



This is a type of orchid called a 'paphiopedilum', and I thought they looked like spiders! I was scared of them.



This photo does NOT need to be rotated (check out the people at the lower left)! This was an installation where the trees are sideways. If you look at the right side of the photo, you can see the roots!



This was one of my favorite sections -- crazy tableaux made of fruits, vegetables, plants, and sculpted trees.



Everyone knows my obsession with old buildings and antiques, but you might not know how much I like modern design too. I LOVED the copper facing on the reflecting pool (the orange thing at my feet) and thought the bold red sculpture surrounding the tree would look pretty sweet in my mythical garden.

I could have taken about a million more photos, but between the crowd and the sheer size of the event, I got overwhelmed and gave up. It was such a fun, unusual day and a great kick-off for spring!

Gent Flower Show Photo Album - Click Here