Hélène De Rudder Garden

Hélène De Rudder Garden is a small neighbourhood garden in Saint-Gilles (Sint-Gillis), one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. It sits at rue de Rome 11, in a courtyard next to the Jacques Franck Cultural Centre, right in the heart of the Parvis-Morichar district. The garden is a good example of how a neglected, paved backyard can be turned into a green space that actually serves local residents, rather than a grand civic park.

Where does the name come from?

The garden is named after Hélène De Rudder, an embroiderer connected to Saint-Gilles. Naming a public space after a local craftswoman rather than an aristocrat or politician is typical of how Brussels municipalities have approached urban renewal in recent years — it gives lasting recognition in public space to local history and everyday work, not just to official figures.

How was the garden created?

The Hélène De Rudder Garden is part of a broader urban renewal programme known as the "Parvis-Morichar" Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract. That programme also covered the new Marie Janson square, Hôtel des Monnaies street, and the neighbouring Pierre Paulus Park with its pétanque court. The garden on rue de Rome was officially inaugurated on 1 April, with residents of the neighbourhood and local community groups taking part — an approach typical of Brussels' neighbourhood contracts, which favour co-creating spaces with residents rather than top-down design.

What can you find here?

Despite its small size, the garden has a deliberate functional programme built around biodiversity and shared community use. It includes five nesting boxes for birds, one insect hotel, a newly planted tree, and fourteen climbing plants intended to eventually cover the surrounding walls and fences. There is also a manual water pump for watering the plants, and a community newsletter for residents involved in the garden's upkeep. This combination is typical of urban neighbourhood gardens: the goal isn't ornamental greenery but rather micro-habitats for insects and birds alongside a meeting point for people living in the surrounding blocks.

When can you visit?

The Hélène De Rudder Garden is a public space, but with limited opening hours, unlike a conventional city park open around the clock. It operates seasonally, from 15 March to 15 October. During that period, it is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 2pm to 8pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 8pm. This schedule suggests the garden functions as a jointly managed neighbourhood space rather than a fully open park — a model seen in other community gardens across Brussels, where access is sometimes shared and monitored by residents themselves.

Who is this place for?

Given its scale and character, the Hélène De Rudder Garden works best as a short stop for visitors exploring Saint-Gilles, rather than a destination in its own right. It's a good place to see grassroots urban renewal in practice — a mix of ecology, a naming choice that honours a local craftswoman, and a space designed for neighbourly encounters. It's worth combining a visit with a walk through the nearby Pierre Paulus Park and a stroll across the Parvis de Saint-Gilles, for a fuller picture of this part of the municipality.