The Camifolia garden

 

 

 

Nearly half of France's medicinal and aromatic plants are produced in Anjou
on more than 800 ha of fields of roman chamomile, blackcurrant, blueberry, lemon balm, mint, lemon thyme...
three quarters of which are around Chemillé.
Chemillé-en-Anjou has long been the capital of medicinal and aromatic plants in Europe.

The botanical garden

The Camifolia garden is a botanical garden with an educational, scientific and touristic vocation,
that highlights this regional know-how and this production.
The garden is divided by theme (toxic and medicinal plants, scents, flavors, fibers and colors, Mediterranean, local cultures)
It is integrated into the tourism service of the municipality of Chemillé-en-Anjou with all the support and actions
of elected officials and agents of the community, as well as the association of Friends of the Garden.
Six permanent agents are assisted by seasonal workers between May and October,
by the Friends of the Garden association, plant and tourism institutions
and professionals in the health, beauty and well-being plant sector.

The seed bank

To ensure its durability and to be able to renew the seedlings of annual plants each year and replace certain others,
the seeds are harvested at the end of the season, dried and sorted, then stored in small paper bags or glass containers.
Harvests from previous years are kept for safety and the seeds of the year are kept in the refrigerator to preserve germination.
A large part of these seeds are shown on these pages.

The seed kiosk

You won't directly visit the seed bank with all its shelves of samples sorted by year.
But in a dedicated kiosk you will discover the world of seeds on several scales,
thanks to microscopes, macroscopic photographs or even the compositions of seeds on display.
This new space pays tribute to the work of Camifolia gardeners
and also to the management of collections by botanical gardens around the world.
Botanical gardens are like museums and constitute a veritable database of plant biodiversity.
So is Camifolia for medicinal and aromatic plants.