Handmade aluminum flower boxes from Flanders

"Last week we made a flower box measuring 240x50x60 centimeters. The flower box was intended as a partition in the garden, for the neighbors' view," says Matthias Nollet, business manager of Tuintijd BV of Hooglede, West Flanders. Tuintijd.be is a supplier of garden tools and planters that can be customized.

Garden Time BV once started as a dealer and supplier of gardening tools for landscapers and contractors. Although the company is still the distributor of renowned brands such as Polet and De Pypere, eleven years ago it also started producing custom-made flower boxes, sold under the brand name Kudro. 

Demand for quality

"We noticed that there was a lack of quality flower boxes on the market," says Nollet, who points to Asian mass-produced boxes that often don't last long. "To fill that gap, we then started producing aluminum containers." In the eleven years that followed, production experienced substantial growth, with garden boxes being delivered as far away as Portugal and Spain. "People find the garden boxes through our Internet store and order them," Nollet explains. 

Private individuals as well as landscapers and garden architects are finding their way to the company. In the private market, the containers for growing vegetables are now particularly popular. With these containers you have a kind of raised vegetable garden, which is not only aesthetic, but also a lot more ergonomic. 

Large, small, bottomless

Nollet has seen a lot of different sizes pass by in his career. "The smallest planter we made was 20 by 20 inches, and the largest was six feet long. That one came without a bottom." A bottomless planter allows the user to place a tree in it, which can then take root in the open ground.

The West Flanders-based company has a number of standard sizes in its range, including containers measuring one meter by one meter. However, the bulk of orders consist of unique sizes, and are placed by contractors and landscapers who incorporate the window boxes into the design of the garden. 

Indestructible and customized

After Garden Time receives the dimensions, the aluminum is machined, then the material is ground, sanded and welded together. Then the garden boxes are powder coated in all possible RAL colors. The labor-intensive production process earned the producer the "handmade in Belgium" label, a confirmation that the containers are produced with care and quality. 

Flower boxes can be delivered ready-made, but are often ordered as kits. The panels are easy to assemble with screws and bolts, and as a construction kit the transport costs are lower.
considerably lower. 

One stop shop for gardening supplies

The advantage of using aluminum in combination with powder coating is that the bins are frost and rust resistant and easily washable. So you won't get rust spots on your patio. "And the powder coating is also UV-resistant, so the bin doesn't discolor," Nollet adds. The business manager of Garden Time points out that this is almost impossible to break. "After five years of use, the planter still looks like new." 

Because Garden Time combines the sale of flower boxes with the sale of gardening tools, gardeners and landscapers do not have to shop in multiple places. Recently, the company added another brand of its own to its portfolio: Mabench, stainless steel lounge sets. Again, quality, elegance and durability are paramount.