 At sixteen he was apprenticed to a horticulturalist in Ghent, later going on to work in Paris.In 1837 a horticultural society was founded in Mechelen, which in 1839 was granted the use of the garden of the former commandery of Pitzemburg.On 4 June 1840 the city's new botanical garden was opened to the public, with Van Hoorde as head gardener.