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Monsieur Sernet's Green Thumb

May 04, 2020

It's a small park and often overlooked, thought perhaps to be something less than it is. But Parc Tenbosch, leafing its greenery in Ixelles near Place Brugmann, is anything but ordinary. Tenbosch grew from the hands of an enthusiastic dendrologist (a botanist who specializes in trees), Jean-Louis Semet, who planted more than 70 trees that today top the list of 'remarkable trees' in the region.

Almost 70 years later, it's the richest arboretum of rare species in Brussels. When the park is open, see if you can find the Aurora Horse Chestnut or the Mongolian Lime, or the Turkish turtledove and dwarf widow parakeet that may have winged to their exotic branches. It's not a contest really, just as long as you get there. Listen to the birdsong and the breeze and thank Monsieur Sernet for his green thumb.