Brussels resident plants flowers in potholes

It’s no secret that repairs to Brussels streets and pavements are not made at lightning speed, and now one resident is taking matters into his own hands. Being more organic than cement oriented, Anton Schuurmans is planting flowers in the capital’s gaping holes.

Schuurmans began planting all manner of flowers in potholes and gaps left by missing paving stones this month. He also follows up, keeping them watered.

“Everyone finds potholes annoying,” he told Bruzz while planting daffodils in a pit left by broken cobblestones, “so this way I can bring a smile to their faces. It’s spring, after all.”

Fixing potholes is not a fiscal priority in Brussels, said Schuurmans, “but if you wander around you see that so many of the roads are in pretty bad shape. Maybe with this, we can put the debate on the agenda. The pedestrians deserve that much.”

The practice is also carried out by citizens in other countries. On Schuurmans’s Twitter account, videos show that the flowers delight pedestrians but also that drivers studiously avoid running over them.

Schuurmans, who is on the staff of political party CD&V, noted that one of the holes in a street he had recently filled with a flower had actually been repaired. “So voila. Maybe someone noticed. Just a few thousand more to go.”