GARDENERS MEN AND WOMEN

With their green fingers, these gardeners ensure that the greenery in and around our hotels always looks its best. 'There's nothing like getting your hands dirty in the soil!'

Martine van der Deijl
Photography: NoPoint Studio's
Styling: Van Tilburg

Ellen (54) Florist/Gardener, Hotel ARA

Eight years ago, I started here as a florist, but now I also work a lot in the garden. I really enjoy being outside. Working in nature, digging my hands into the soil; delightful! When I am working outside, I look around and see the most beautiful view I could wish for. The hotel is located by a river in the beautiful nature reserve De Hooge Nesse.

Last year we built a natural staircase, so you can walk directly from the hiking area onto the terrace. This way, the nature reserve is connected to the hotel. Besides pruning and maintaining the grass, I am mainly involved with the herb and tea garden. I pick the herbs from the herb garden and bring them to the kitchen, where they are used in various dishes. You can also enjoy tea made from, for example, mint from our own tea garden. In the flower garden, on the side of the terrace, there are only edible flowers. The kitchen can use these flowers for salads or on cakes. I am very interested in edible flowers; everything I plant must be edible. In winter, I spend more time indoors; for example, I focus on decorating the halls.

In general, I work alone a lot, which I actually enjoy, but when I feel like chatting, I just walk over to a colleague. I also have regular conversations with guests. Additionally, I have a little dog, Daila, whom I sometimes bring along. She happily trots around in the garden behind me, which is very cozy.

'I ALWAYS HAVE A SORT OF HOLIDAY FEELING WHEN I AM AT WORK'

Years ago, I used to visit various Van der Valk Hotels regularly. Together with my two brothers Tonnie and Gertjan, I worked for a company that installed window frames, including at new Van der Valk locations. And since April 2005, I have been working as a gardener at Hotel Cuijk-Nijmegen.

Although I had no experience working in the garden, I still got the opportunity to start here. In the meantime, I have learned a lot and I go to work every day with a lot of pleasure. I also live just a 5-minute bike ride away from the hotel, although it takes me 7 minutes with headwind, haha.

When I am at work, I start the day with a cup of coffee with my colleagues from the technical department. Then I go outside. Sometimes I start by weeding or trimming hedges, and other times I have to prune trees or mow the grass. So, there is a lot of variety. The nice thing about working in the garden is that I am outdoors. Especially in spring, I really enjoy it; everything starts to grow and bloom again. That is a beautiful sight. Even after all these years, it never gets boring. One time, I was mowing a sloped area by the pond with the tractor, and it didn't go quite well. I no longer saw grass, but mostly water; I had driven my tractor right into the pond! They had to pull it out of the water with a truck. Fortunately, not everyone saw it, because they would still be talking about it during coffee break.

Peter (57) Gardener, Hotel Cuijk-Nijmegen

'THERE IS ALWAYS PLENTY TO DO AND I NEVER GET BORED'

Kees (61) Gardener, Hotel Eindhoven

My father used to have his own gardening company and at that time he did all the planting work at Van der Valk Hotel Gilze-Tilburg. After that, he started working at Hotel Eindhoven. I was around twelve years old at that time and helped him, that's how it was back then. I worked with my father for about twenty years. After his passing, we stopped the business; it was hard work, but we had a very good time.

I was asked if I was interested in working as a gardener at Hotel Eindhoven. Well, I didn't have to think long about it; I knew the hotel from before and always found it a nice place. So, the new workplace was quickly arranged. That was 22 years ago, and I still work here with a lot of love and pleasure. I do my utmost to keep everything looking neat.

There is always plenty to do and I never get bored. My workday starts at 7.00 am, then I make sure the parking lot and the main entrance are tidy. That's the first thing guests see when they arrive at the hotel. Then I go into the garden. I don't mind which task I take on, I enjoy doing everything. Although summer is the nicest period, because I am always busy outside. Occasionally, something goes wrong while I'm working. Once, I ended up lying flat in the pond. I was in the garden and walked a bit too far, ending up in the water. Fortunately, I was able to get out quickly to get dry clothes. I was a little scared for a moment, but afterwards, I can laugh heartily about it.