The Medicinal Gardens
Jean-David Derreumaux - Head Medicinal Gardener
The extraordinary healing and medicinal gardens at Churchtown Dairy are stars unto themselves – enhancing the landscape with their beauty and importance equal to that of the buildings. The gardens are the creation of Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic gardener with over 25 years of growing medicinal plants and creating healing gardens. He is an artist who uses his deep knowledge of plants and their healing properties to enhance the well-being of all living things.
How It Began
In 2017 Jean-David began the transformation of two acres of the Churchtown Dairy landscape into a healing garden along with a field of medicinal plants. The gardens are now home to over 350 species planted in such a way that the plants’ particular magic – expressed in color, form, scent, and texture - can be experienced by all who enter.
Adjacent to the healing garden, medicinal plants are also grown as field crops. Beyond creating a beautiful landscape, Jean-David grows plants of the highest quality. To this end, biodynamic methods are used to benefit the soil and therefore the plants. Soil fertility is also developed through utilizing on-farm resources including composting the manure from the cows raised and fed on our pastures. Certain biodynamic preparations are used for compost while others are turned into sprays that enhance the flowering phase of plant development, leading to higher medicinal quality.
Up to 90 species of plants grown are used medicinally, harvested, either dried, shipped fresh or processed on site by Jean-David and his team. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds are sold to practitioners who integrate them into remedies or care products. These companies require material that has been grown biodynamically. Special extracts, made through a rhythmic process*, are made for Uriel Pharmacy and utilized in their anthroposophical medicines. Their remedies are either water or alcohol based, potentized (a homeopathic process that increases potency) and combined to make a final product.
In addition, the garden team makes our own organic and biodynamic products on site: herbal teas, botanical oils, elixirs, hydrosols using a steam distillation process, and ginger, proudly displayed and available to visitors in the Farm Store.
The Medicinal Gardens also serve an important educational purpose with weekly garden tours and special workshops offered to the public throughout the year, and more intensive training for those who join the team. Knowledge gained ranges from basic gardening skills, growing specific medicinal plants, to biodynamic methods and philosophy.
From mid-June to mid-October, garden walks are offered every Friday at 10:00 a.m. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet Jean-David and his team and learn about the work directly from them. Please visit our Programs to see what is coming up.
Visitors are always welcome to enjoy the gardens at their leisure in season. The gazebo in the garden is a lovely spot for a picnic lunch or a light bite at sunset.
For more information about the gardens, please contact Jean-David jean-david@churchtowndairy.org
