Kusum’s visit to the Swiss naturopath’s gardens in the Netherlands
As long as I can remember, Echinaforce drops from Vogel have been a part of my morning routine*, especially during the cold of winter when my body’s resistance could use some support.
This strikingly beautiful flower, with its spiky orange-red dome and pointy pink petals, has a speciality. She likes to contribute to the basis of our health: our immune system.
I never knew for sure, but had suspected, that some of the flowers that go into the tincture are actually grown in the Netherlands, where we live. Then, this last summer the A. Vogel Gardens broadcast an advertisement on the radio where they invited people to come and visit their gardens. Nirvi and I became curious and went to check it out.
The naturopath and herbalist Alfred Vogel (1902-1996) had founded his company Bioforce AG (renamed A Vogel AG since 2020), in his native Switzerland, where most of the production must have taken place. Nirvi, who is also Swiss, was surprised that a large variety of flowers and herbs which are used in their products are now grown in Holland as well. Not only echinacea, but also marigold (for the calendula cream), camomile and sage. At the visitor centre we could read detailed stories about these plants, but while strolling through the gardens we could read on information panels what we needed to know about the plants we were looking at. We could also listen to an audio tour.
In the gardens we could walk around freely, or opt to follow the ‘A. Vogel route’ which leads past the most beautiful highlights of the gardens. There is also a barefoot path and a section where you can pluck and taste the herbs.
14 hectares full of medicinal plants and herbs! They are not only beautiful to look at, but of course the main purpose for which they are cultivated is for our health. While growing, the plants pull into themselves from the earth the working substances for our health – which are then extracted and processed into the various A. Vogel products. We discovered that everything here is grown ecologically, without artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides. This is done to preserve nature and to keep the ingredients as pure as possible.
We also learned that they are using all parts of the plants. And most importantly, that the fresher the plant is when harvested, the more the ingredients are active. After the herbalists catch this optimal state in time, the plants are then processed within two hours. Should the plants be left for too long after harvesting, or if they were dried, the potency of all active ingredients would decrease rapidly. That’s why the plants are chosen as fresh as possible.
When we visited the gardens it was a hot summer’s day, as you can see from the photos where we are hiding in the bushes… But now that autumn is soon setting in and the days and nights are getting colder, it’s time for me to take the Echinaforce drops again. And now that I know with how much love and attention this resistance support remedy is made, I will feel extra grateful when ingesting this power of nature.
* Read instruction leaflet for dosage (PDF)
Comments are closed.