The Royal Glasshouses in the palace grounds at Brussels are open to the public only for a few weeks in April or early May each year. There are substantial queues to get in and wander around the very extensive glasshouses. Arrive early and expect to queue for a short while, and at weekends it may be very crowded with longer queues. It takes most of the morning to walk round the entire exhibit though you could easily spend longer.
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The tour starts with a short walk around the Royal stables and a few antique carriages. This is more of interest to horse fanatics rather than gardeners but the route forms part of the crowd management. |
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The Orangery is very impressive and forms the main entrance to the extensive tropical glasshouses behind. Plants are arranged for appearance and impact rather than botanical purposes. A huge number of very old orange trees in large tubs grace the courtyard. |
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There were a few specimen succulent plants inside the main dome, but the majority of the plantings are of conventional semi tropical and tropical flowering plants. They did have one of the largest hoya plants I have ever seen. |
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This is a view back from the main garden at the first section of the main greenhouse which contains tropical palms and other large plants with an underplanting of smaller cycads, begonias and other semitropical annuals and perennials. It is an impressive iron frame construction and looks huge from inside - this photograph gives no real impression of the scale. |
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Even the corridors connecting different sections of the main greenhouses are glazed and ornamented with geraniums grown as 6' single stems along the sides and fuchsias overhead. Other parts not shown include a fern and moss garden with appropriately semi submerged cool damp corridors lined with mosses and ferns. The greenhouses are interconnected by a couple of kilometres of these glazed corridors. A oneway system is enforced by the palace guards. |
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Some parts are off limits and clearly intended for entertaining and relaxation. The whole planting was immaculate with nothing out of place. This is a view down towards a picnic spot. |
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Though many parts used subtle colours and delicate plants the Azalea house was a bold contrast. I found the clashing colours overpowering but other people liked them. Certainly it was an impressive display all flowering together. |
You can walk a couple of miles inside the displays mostly undercover, although it is necessary to go outside to do the longest walk through the complete set of glasshouses and the azaleas and fern gardens. It is impossible to convey how large the site is from these photographs.
