In an unassuming greenhouse complex located less than 30 minutes’ drive from downtown Geneva, François Gerard works his botanical magic
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
In an unassuming greenhouse complex located less than 30 minutes’ drive from downtown Geneva, Switzerland, François Gerard works his magic.
Article content
His medium? Orchids.
Article content
Article content
A special laboratory for the unique flowers, the greenhouse space is an epicentre of early research and innovation for the French beauty brand Guerlain. And it’s so hidden that, once dropped off at the destination by an Uber driver, I had difficulty finding it.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“Où se trouve l’orchidarium Guerlain?” I asked a woman, who was seated inside a greenhouse office, in my clumsy high school-level French. Rather than fumble our way through a conversation, the woman kindly escorted me out into the drizzly rain, down the road, and into a the maze of greenhouses before delivering me to a big sliding door.
Article content
West Coast Table
Article content
I’d reached the Guerlain Orchidarium.
Article content
Article content
It was there that I met Gerard and his assistant Sylvia Dusonchet to learn more about the delicate work they’re doing to expand the understanding of the plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae.
Article content
“We try to be as diverse as possible, but we have a focus on the Vanda Coerulea genus,” Gerard says of the so-called blue orchid, which is celebrated for its long lifespan that can stretch upwards of 100 years. “What we have here are botanical orchids, which is to say it’s not what you find in the garden centre. Those are a cross of many, many species in between. It’s a long process of hybridization.”
Article content
Instead, the orchids found within this greenhouse space are unique species sourced from all over the world.
Article content
Despite its ties to a major global skin-care brand, the space is decidedly organic. Plants from every available surface, empty terra cotta pots are stacked end to end to create a makeshift pedestal, and the paths between each row is more of a suggestion than a designate route.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“We were the first to work here as a green greenhouse, you could say. Green horticulture. Without pesticides,” he says of the 600-square-metre space. Started nearly 20 years ago, the Orchidarium is now home to more than 300 orchid species and 3,000 individual plants.
Article content
Read More
-
A signature scent: Guerlain’s Shalimar turns 100
-
Here are 5 signs your scalp health is not so great
-
Advertisement 1
Story continues below
Article content
“It’s quite rare to have a collection of so many different species,” he adds. “For a private collection, it’s quite something.”
Article content
The final ingredients of the research done at this site are used primarily in the brand’s luxury skin-care range called Orchidée Impériale, but the Orchidarium team also explores the scent of certain orchids for the use in Guerlain perfumes.
Article content
It’s at the next station of Guerlain orchid research, which takes place at the Tianzi Exploratory Reserve in China, a ‘jungle farming’ operation that aims to protect biodiversity and boost economic interests in the region, where the operation is scaled much bigger.
Article content
And Gerard is at the centre of it all.
Article content
Article content
Considered one of the world’s foremost ethnobotanists, Gerard has dedicated much of his professional career to furthering the understanding and advancement of the biology of orchids. His interest in plants, he says, has always been to put a value on each — not for profit, but for protection.
