Le jardinier de la Grand-Place

Title only available in French.

Did you know that on this place with a sumptuous architecture, visited by the tourists of the whole world, was held, since the 12th century, a market evolving with the rhythm of the needs of the inhabitants: metals, haberdashery, food, clothes, hardware store, potteries, animals, morning market with vegetables and fruit, bird market and, finally, flower market. Coming from a line of horticulturists for five generations, Jean-Louis Van Malder worked from his childhood on this market. Everyday, up before dawn, he accompanied his parents, then he took their succession. He became, over the years, the last gardener-floriculturist of the Grand-Place, witness of the disappearance of one of the most alive markets of the city. His writing, lively and sincere, makes us discover all the richness of his job. It tells the story of a laborious family and sketches the portrait of its customers, regular or occasional, tourists or Brussels. His story is driven by the desire to convey a singular life experience. This book, illustrated with numerous documents, is accompanied by a history of the markets of Brussels, under the pen of Thérèse Symons