Rainbow Valley at Floralia Brussels in the park of Grand Bigard Castle, Belgium

The magnificent Floralia Brussels is an outdoor annual international exhibition of fresh flowers, began with its first edition in 2003 in the beautiful park of Grand Bigard Castle with tulip bulbs mainly supplied from the Netherlands. This year is held the 14th edition of this inspiring with its beauty spring flowering exhibition. The sumptuous feast of flowers has found its place in the wonderful park of Château de Grand-Bigard, not far from Brussels. At beginning of the last millennium before nearly 1000 years in the former feudal manor Groot-Bijgaarden (Grand-Bigard), in 12th-century was built a castle, located in the land of the municipality of Dilbeek, in the province of Flemish Brabant. The first lord of Bigard and of the castle was Almaric Bigard, born circa 1050 and presumably died about 61 years old in 1111, according to archival data on his genealogical line.

The first steps for the construction of park space began in mid-18th century, in 1748. Newly are discovered drawings relating to one place in the park where about 250 years ago was made an attempt grooming the park with different types of flowers. The idea for this project to design the park space was filled by Ferdinand-Joseph Derons (1700-1762) on the special request of the marquise Hélène-Hyacinthe de Boisschot, countess of Erps, baroness of Zaventem, wife of the count of Königsegg. The forming of the park was completed by the garden architect Louis Fuchs at the end of the 19th century. Today's landscape appearance the park began to acquire on the basis of project of other prominent landscape designer, Maarten Bakker, heir to the Dutch family tradition of bulb producers. He starts the design and realization of the idea for the exhibition of live flowers in Groot-Bijgaarden, as presenting the diverse types of spring flowers arranged in the park in various flower beds and figures.

In the last nearly 15 years, this tradition gives us the opportunity to enjoy the lavish springtime triumph of the represented more than 1 million flower bulbs. Each of them is hand-planted on an area of 14 hectares in the park Grand-Bigard and gives us the opportunity to admire of over 400 species of the crown spring flower "The Tulip", presented in an exceptional variety of colors and sorts, some of which result from the latest selections. In their richly colored celebration, are presented also various hyacinths, daffodils and other spring flower varieties.

The main providers of spring bulbs and fresh flowers for Grand-Bigard are 5 florists with an high professional experience and regularity of supplies: From Groot-Bijgaarden - Bloemencenter Van Roy B.V.B.A.; From Brussels - Botanica l'artisan fleuriste and Muyllaert Flowers; From Anderlecht - Maertens David fleuriste and Noulette-Erasme.

The extensive park area in Grand-Bigard, which every spring for a month turns into a spectacular open-air stage of the stunning beautiful flower exhibition Floralia Brussels, is divided into several colorful thematic gardens, shaped differently. There's a special place in the park shaped valley where was built the enchanting Rainbow Valley. Before eyes of visitor is ramping up the picture of stunning arc, erupted in a colored faery of spring plants! As a triumph of the eternally reviving and renewing nature!

Address: Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden, Isidoor van Beverenstraat 5, 1702 Dilbeek, Belgium.