| In
1923, Alfred Vogel established a health store in Basel, Switzerland
to share the healing power of herbs, about which he had learned
from his parents and grandparents, with all those who crossed
his threshold. His greatest desire was to help people stay
healthy and so he asked them to examine their lifestyles and
diet, rather than simply seek a remedy when something ailed.
For those who could
not get better by these changes alone, he worked patiently
to create suitable herbal medicines which would bring the
benefit of the whole fresh plant to those who sought his aid,
painstakingly developing his own unique range of fresh herb
tinctures. Having moved in the early 1930s to Teufen in the
Appenzell region of Switzerland, where he was able to practice
as a naturopath, he cultivated his extensive gardens there,
always following his precept of working in harmony with nature.
His plants were grown and cared for without the use of any
artificial fertilisers or insecticides, hand sown, hand weeded
and hand harvested to ensure the gentlest of environments
for his herbs.
His reputation grew during the 1940s and his tireless work
continued, learning about and working with many native European
plants.
Realising that native peoples throughout the world had accumulated
knowledge about plants native to their homelands, in the 1950s
he began to travel extensively seeking further answers to
his patients’ problems – answers which still work
for us today.
One country Vogel visited was the USA from where he returned
with Echinacea purpurea seeds which he painstakingly cultivated
at his home in Teufen and in the Alpine region of the Engadine.
In November 1962 he wrote about his work with these plants.
“I have now raised Echinacea in the Engadine
and have acclimatised it slowly, because it has gradually
to become accustomed to the long, hard winter. In Teufen too,
I have an Echinacea plantation which I have raised from seed.
Five years ago, I tried my luck in Engadine with about one
hundred plants. About fifty withstood the first winter and
developed in a mediocre way because they did not come into
bloom before the cold weather once again set in. For three
years the plants fought against the cold weather until finally,
in the fourth year, the strongest amongst them managed to
produce a few flowers. At the time I increased the plants
by dividing them so as to raise the annual production. At
the beginning of September, in the fifth year, almost 90%
of the plantation came into flower so assuring me that they
had become accustomed to the climate as well as to the cultivation
period.”
 “Echinacea
purpurea has been treasured by the Native Americans
for centuries, not simply for its beauty but because of its
exceptional healing powers. When we consult a medicine man
about an inflamed, slow healing wound or a malignant boil,
he gathers the Echinacea leaves, crushes them and applies
them to the affected area. We are also invited to eat it to
obtain quick healing both internally and externally.”
For more information
on the life of Alfred Vogel, click here: www.avogel.co.uk
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