Who are we

Odio libero semper non egestas. Quis massa a neque ipsum mi ac.

Passionate about plants, flowers, botany, and harvesting wild plants. We also like to grow plants adapted to our climate that are no longer found in nature and which help to relieve, to treat the small hazards of everyday life. Our activity starts in March with the picking of the first coltsfoot essential for mixtures dedicated to respiratory diseases, then we accumulate around fifty varieties throughout the spring and summer. At the end of August, we proceed to the assemblies according to the quantities and qualities harvested. it’s the magic moment when 5 months of work give us an often surprising result in terms of taste, aesthetics and above all therapeutic. Plants are dehumidified in a dryer usually for a week without blowers or mechanical work. We reduce the dried structures to a minimum in order to preserve all the essential oils contained in the leaves and flowers, which results in a fairly coarse herbal tea blend that retains its odors and its effectiveness when infused. We deliberately favor quality and efficiency avoiding a pretty grain size that often ends up in dust without properties. The plants come from our garden without any addition of product. We manufacture our own fertilizers based on fermented extracts, in a part of the Jura relatively preserved by the chemical agricultural world.

Located at the top of the village of Mollens VD, a village of fewer than 300 inhabitants at the foot of the Jura, on the edge of the forest, receiving all the strength of the Alps which enlighten us in front of Mont-Blanc, our plants remain relatively protected from the hazards of urbanization. At the rhythm of the seasons, we sow, prune, pick, respecting the lunar calendar as much as possible.

We are two enthusiasts who receive help from their loved ones during busy harvest and processing periods

The plants come either from our cultures located in Mollens (VD) or from pickings in the region of Mollens and Mont-Tendre. The lime comes from Niedens-above (VD) and the heather from Les Diablerets. We work with respect for nature without chemicals, but do not use the ”BIO” label, which seems to us to have no added value for ultra-local distribution, based on trust and transparency. Our plants receive, like the whole of Switzerland, the vagaries of pollution caused by 8 million inhabitants, of an expanding urbanism as well as road and air traffic and the “atmospheric gifts” from our neighbours.

Cécile Ehrensperger, after studying sociology and anthropology in Lausanne, became interested in migration issues. Passionate about otherness and community approaches with audiences such as young people, seniors, people with disabilities, in an inclusive and salutogenic research, trained in the basics of herbalism via the school of plants of Sion ”The Lady’s Mantle”. She continues to acquire knowledge in herbal medicine through a cycle of training provided at La Mandorle (Colombier-NE)

Crossing the worlds of agronomy, media and energy, Philippe Gendret has been passionate about the cultivation and processing of medicinal plants for more than 20 years. He trained as a herbalist at the Ecole des plants L’Alchémille, dispensed in Sion. He strives to follow different cultivation techniques such as respect for the lunar calendar, bio-dynamics, Feng-Chui, and geobiology while remembering the fundamentals received 35 years ago.

In June 2020, the Jardin des Ochettes received the Citizen Prize for Ecological Transition awarded by the Aubonne-based renewable energy producer SEFA.