Project in the spotlight - Gardener Nick De Laet

The company "Tuinman Nick" in Belgium was set up by Nick De Laet. He started working in gardening as a side hustle, then established a one-man business and recently his company became a limited company. His first applications with the TerraCottem soil conditioner were primarily for laying out new lawns with turf.

We asked him a couple of questions:

Why TerraCottem?

It's a Belgian company that strives for beautiful ideals and sells quality products.

Do you use TerraCottem in all your projects or why specifically in certain projects? 

Since I work for different client profile, the investment budget varies per project.  I offer different options regarding fertilisation of plantings and/or lawn. Not all my customers want to spend the same amount on fertilising. For plantations around a company building, the budget is often on the low side, and I only provide the bare necessities, usually plants and bark. With residential work the budgets are higher, I can use just more fertiliser and soil conditioning. The clients want long-term results and less worries. I usually recommend it, especially after the dry summers of recent years and, also to achieve stronger root growth.

How did you learn about our products?

I had read about TerraCottem in my supplier’s catalogue and had seen the packaging in their warehouse. As I did not know the product at the time, I asked the seller for information. The price of these products is higher than other less effective products, which is why I had not used it at the time.

Many chemical products have a short duration of action and with certain natural products one does not get the right results.

So, I had been searching for a while for a product that I could trust and that was justifiable. In short, one that also improves the eco-print.

What is your speciality?

My main activity is laying turf (small to medium-sized gardens up to about 700 m2). In larger gardens we sow.

But I also do general weekly, fortnightly or yearly maintenance. What I like best are projects involving wood, i.e., building made-to-measure garden sheds, and then furnishing them with beautiful plants that bring colour and life to the garden.

I prefer gardens with straight lines with different types of flowers and lots of variation in colour. This is often what the clients want.

I'm not a landscape architect and I haven't studied for this profession, apart from a home course that I sometimes take. But I love my work and I always want to improve in service, speed, and finish.

There is a lot of competition in the market. I always go for the best result and I am therefore not always the cheapest. 

What do you like the most about your work?

I do both garden maintenance and garden construction. With maintenance, I like to achieve a good result in the short term. With landscaping, it's important that people can enjoy it and relax.

I love working outside in all weathers. Snow and rain are also part of the job, but of course I prefer sunny weather.

In recent years, I have got to know other independent garden contractors. It is nice to grow together and to help each other in order to achieve a beautiful result and deliver professional work.

After all, in this job I can be my own boss and make my own choices.

More information?