Sometimes, when rush hour gets too much and concrete buildings get too tight, we need an escape. An escape from city life. Even though Brussels is arguably small enough to not suffocate its residents with that “big city” kind of feeling, it’s still good to take a break every now and then. And the answer lies just on its outskirts.
The Geographic Arboretum, in Tervuren, sits like a crown on the head of the majestic Sonian Forest, on its north border. The arboretum was founded in 1902 on a property of King Leopold II and is today the most attractive public domain of the patrimony bequeathed by the king to the Belgian nation in 1903. More than a tree collection, this is a collection of forests, or forest types, more precisely. Countless trees and shrubs from the North, West and East of North America, from Central and Mediterranean Europe and from the Middle and Far East of Asia are grouped here by region of origin in some hundred sections, covering a total of 120 ha.
1. History
The origins of the arboretum date back to 1902, when Professor Charles Bommer, a Belgian forestry specialist, started laying out the ambitious plan for the future forest collection in the Capuchin Forest. Part of the wider Sonian Forest, the Capuchin Forest was exploited by King Leopold I for its wood, but once Leopold II inherited the domain from his father, he started its reforestation, entrusting the arboretum to Professor Bommer.
Exotic tree collections were not a novelty in Europe at the time, many experimental plantations being established to evaluate their potential in afforestation projects. The arboretum in Tervuren however soon became popular throughout the continent for the scale of the project and the ambition of its managers to reproduce different forest types from around the world.
From the very beginning, tree species were planted according to their region of origin in such a way that reflected the characteristics of their natural habitats. According to an inventory drawn up by a forest brigadier named Janssens, the current 40 arboretum groups (with the same number of regions of origin) had already been planted by 1912.
2. Layout
Today, the arboretum comprises about 700 tree species and more than 30,000 trees, divided in two large sections: the New World and the Old World. Named in terms originating from the times of the explorers, the New World housed species from the Americas, while the Old World houses European, North African and Asian species.
Each of the two sections comprises 20 Arboretum Groups, each of which can cover areas ranging from a few dozen acres to several hectares. A group represents a particular region, with tree species either in clusters or mixed individually. Some groups are subdivided into subgroups – in mountainous areas, trees are divided into altitude sections, for example.
2.1. The New World
The New World section of the arboretum covers almost the entire territory of North America, with the exception of the tundra in the far north and the subtropical areas in the south.
Groups 1 to 7 represent the Pacific coastal zone, from South-Alaska to California, while Groups 8 and 9 represent the Rocky Mountains. Group 11 reflects the Canadian taiga, followed by the zones of the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes in Groups 12 and 13. The Appalachian Mountains and regions to the west up to the Mississippi are represented in Groups 14 to 17. Groups 18 to 20 represent the Atlantic coastal zone. Group 10, in the middle, is an exceptional one, showcasing an Andean mountain zone in South America.
In the New World Section, between the groups, some spaces have been left untouched by the creation of the arboretum, revealing fragments of the original oak forest planted on the domain in the 1870s.
2.2. The Old World
The Old World in not as well separated or divided as the New World section, the boundary with the surrounding oak forest not being very well defined at times. In the south of Europe, a variety of tree species grow on the southern and northern slopes of the Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees, many of which can be found in the arboretum, but the range of species from East Asia in the collection is far richer.
Groups 21 and 22 represent Central Europe and the Alpine region, Groups 23 and 24 Northern and Western Europe and Groups 26 to 30 the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Journeying across the Middle East, represented by Groups 31 to 33, the collection moves eastwards into mountainous areas of Central Asia in Groups 34 and 35. Groups 36 to 40 reflect forest regions in the Far East, primarily in China and further onto Japan, which were poorly known at the time of the arboretum’s creation, so efforts are underway to expand these groups further to more accurately represent the botanical wealth of the Far East.
3. Things to do
The arboretum is crossed by a dense network of avenues and footpaths to allow visitors to discover its every nook and cranny at their own pace. Several walking paths of the wider regional network also pass through the arboretum, with the 7 km long Royal Walk crossing the entire domain and running entirely on paved roads. The other, shorter walking routes (+/- 3 km) largely run over unpaved forest paths and through the meadows, crossing different continents and regions of the world within the geographical arboretum.
There are also a few cycling paths, mostly going around the domain, with the exception of the bicycle path along the Kapucijnendreef, which is an important link in the bicycle network through the Sonian Forest and the Dyle region, but wandering off the bike paths is not allowed.
“The arboretum is not an example of a local ecosystem, but the meadows in between are nonetheless noteworthy from an ecological standpoint”, reads the arboretum’s website. “And important, too, because they happen to be rare.”
Weather on the hunt for some rare plants, such as varieties of Tormentil, trailing St John’s-wort or heath bedstraw, or trying to get a glimpse of wildlife, the arboretum awaits. Encounters with foxes or roe deer are not unusual and, recently, wild boars have started repopulating the area, so more caution is advised. Insect lovers will also have a treat, with a large variety of butterflies inhabiting on the domain, such as the ringlet, silver-washed fritillaries, the purple hairstreak or the purple emperor.
© Royal Donation 
© Royal Donation
As for recreation, picnicking is allowed on the grassy meadows as long as nothing is left behind. While dogs are most welcomed, they have to be kept on leash at all times to not disturb the wildlife in any way.
Visitors are advised to be prepared for a real forest walk, with appropriate footwear and clothing, depending on the season. There are parking areas at the entrances, but there are no public bathrooms within the forest and cell reception is limited.
