If you’ve ever wondered where Weleda gathers its beautiful ingredients, here’s an inside look at our Biodynamic© garden in Germany. Come join the tour!
Biodynamic© farming uses the balance between plants, earth, animals and the environment to create a sustainable, fertile, enriching relationship. This concept, started by Dr. Rudolph Steiner, is the guideline for growth at the Weleda Naturals Garden in Wetzgau, just outside Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. Here, over 250 different medicinal plants are grown on 56 acres of lush land and harvested at their peak for use in Weleda products. It is one of the largest Biodynamic© gardens in Europe.
Plants such as Arnica (Arnica Montana) great for inflammation, Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) a natural immune aide and and Eyebright (Euphrasia Officinalis) found in our Wild Rose Smoothing Eye Cream are lovingly cultivated here. One colorful example of this cultivation is Calendula.
Calendula grows best during the warm summer months, like its own bright little sun. Full of flavonoids, carotenoids and essential oils, these little blooms possess powerful healing and anti-inflammatory properties. We harvest more than 3,500 pounds of Biodynamic© calendula blossoms every year from our gardens for use in medicines and our Calendula Baby Care line. See it happen here.
Besides bright flowers, useful herbs and beneficial weeds, Weleda Naturals houses bugs of all kinds (seen in the insect hotel below) and keeps an active compost pile. While those may not be the most beautiful images of the garden, they are crucial to the health and vitality of this working farm.
Don’t just take our word for it. Check out what others, like EcoFabulous and Beauty Geeks, have had to say about their trips to this special place. Or see our extended video here (we like :30 – 2:50 the best).
Whichever way you look at Weleda Naturals you will see beauty in its natural form. We hope you’ve enjoyed this small tour and that you’ll come back to visit us soon.
Love Calendula as much as we do? Post your favorite Calendula product in the comment section below and enter to win a Calendula inspired gift basket! Entries will be accepted until Sunday 9/28** at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be randomly selected from the entries received, emailed directly and (once confirmed) posted on our Facebook page. Good luck and stay tuned; there are more farms to come!
**Contest extended to Thursday 10/11 by 11:59pm.