Medicinal herb garden

Where precious raw materials grow.

Wherever possible, we like to harvest the plants used in Dr. Hauschka Skin Care from our very own medicinal herb garden. This is located directly behind our oldest company building in Eckwälden. Our work here adheres to many different rhythms, creates a closed natural ecosystem, and leaves room for wilderness. It is a real oasis.

Biodynamic farming.

Our medicinal herb garden covers around five hectares where our dedicated gardeners cultivate the land biodynamically based on nature’s own rhythms. What does this mean, exactly? It means we use our own seeds to grow the next generation of plants, which thrive in the closed ecosystem of our garden – a single organism that comprises the living soil, the surrounding environment and the climate into which the plants grow. We work with compost, crop rotation and green manuring, constantly observing how the garden is developing and always gathering new experiences – particularly in these times of changing climate conditions. We never stop learning.

Compost – our garden’s gold.

Various compost heaps play an integral role in our medicinal herb garden. They provide the sustainable structure that is required for soil and plants to thrive in harmony. But not all compost is the same – for example, we differentiate between leaf and dung compost. Each heap is hand-turned an average of four times before it reaches maturity. This way, we can directly monitor the changing quality of the compost. After turning, our gardeners add various biodynamic preparations to the compost. Nettle, chamomile, yarrow, oak bark and dandelion all help the compost to reach its full potential. Finally, a thick layer of straw provides each heap with a protective barrier.

Biodiversity: variety over monocultures.

More than 150 of the various medicinal plants that we use in the production of Dr. Hauschka Skin Care products and WALA Medicines are cultivated in our own medicinal herb garden. With our garden, we have created a colourful biotope and a unique area of biodiversity – with shady wooded areas and bright sunny spots, flower beds and meadows, trees and shrubs. The garden not only provides the perfect conditions for each and every plant, but also for multiple animals. We keep several bee colonies and provide nesting holes for birds, piles of stones for lizards and wild bees, and a pond for frogs, toads and multiple other species. Our medicinal herb garden provides a stable habitat and varied food supply all year round.

Carefully and by hand.

Each plant in our garden receives dedicated care and attention. Our gardeners harvest leaves, blossoms, fruits and roots by hand all year round – and these are then processed to produce our plant extracts. All the plant-processing departments are located right next to the garden to ensure the harvested raw materials are as fresh as possible when they arrive.

Our garden through the year.

January.

During the colder months, our beloved greenhouse becomes the focal point of work in the garden. It is here that the bryophyllum seedlings wait patiently to be planted outside come spring. This month is also when we start sowing the first seeds of the year.

February.

This is when root harvesting takes place. Before the sun has even risen, the plants are carefully freed from the semi-frozen ground and are processed with the first rays of morning sun.

March.

Everything may still look brown and bare outside, but the sun is starting to emit its first warming rays. This is when spring fever starts to take hold in our garden. The gardeners prepare themselves and the flower beds for the new season with much excitement.

April.

As April showers come and go, nature is literally bursting with energy: young buds and tender green shoots start to sprout from the soil and branches. This is also when our medicinal herb garden begins to bloom and show its wild, colourful, natural beauty.

May.

Our garden is now a lush green, with everything growing and thriving. The quince trees are in full bloom and many busy hands get to work harvesting our witch hazel leaves.

June.

Anyone who enters the medicinal herb garden will quickly learn that this land is also home to our bees. We always leave a few flowers when we harvest our medicinal plants so that there is enough nectar and pollen left for our busy little co-workers.

July.

In midsummer, coneflowers and marigolds add splashes of intense colour to our garden. We rejoice in every rain shower that brings a welcome refreshment to gardeners, animals and plants alike.

August.

In August, nature takes a little siesta. Many plants are past their flowering peak and are getting ready to go to seed. In the lead-up to autumn, we pick ripe seed heads almost daily for the next generation of plants.

September.

Late summer is a time of many ‘lasts’ in the gardening year: the last roses bloom in September and the meadows are mown one last time.

October.

Autumn is upon us and the sun hangs low in the sky, glistening through the golden treetops. Most of the flowers have had their day and fallen fruit covers the ground. We give our compost heaps another turn and prepare them for their winter hibernation.

November.

As the gardening year draws to a close, our gardeners are already thinking ahead to next spring. They sort and dry the seeds so they are ready to be sown in the new year. These will produce seedlings for more than 25,000 new plants.

December.

The garden may appear to be in a deep winter sleep, but even through the winter nature continues to work in secret and at its own rhythm.

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