Hey there, I'm Charelle - Mum, naturopath & Founder of The Physic Garden. I grew up around herbal potions, essential oils and natural remedies as a child. Natural medicine was always our go to as a family. As an adult I found myself pursuing a career which left me stressed-out and unwell. In 2011, I was diagnosed with thyroid disease, Hashimotos, and my instinct was to turn back to natural medicine to recover my health. I decided to ditch my career and turn back to my roots, studying naturopathy and herbal medicine.
I discovered a deep passion for herbs and nature, and felt called to help people re-connect with plants in a practical, enjoyable way. I was working as a Naturopath in 2015 and often clients would ask for natural alternatives to products like tiger balm, vapour rub or nappy cream, that was also vegan, sustainably packaged and made in Australia. There just didn't seem to be anyone making a range to cover all these as natural alternatives that were locally made.
I was inspired to create a range of bath and body products that ticked all the boxes - natural, vegan, eco-friendly, and that helped me to share my love of herbal medicine.
In a flurry of inspiration, I formulated a range of balms and deodorants from our kitchen bench. I knew they had to be completely natural with minimal processing to keep the plant ingredients as close to nature as possible. I remember in the beginning, I could only make 16 products at a time and we used to cut-out and glue each label on by hand! It was a lot of work, but I really loved making them. I launched The Physic Garden range in March 2016 selling our products online and at local markets.
Immediately, I started getting such incredible feedback from people telling us how effective our products were and how much it was helping them. This motivated me to start working at The Physic Garden full-time so we could grow and help more people with our herb-infused products.
Our son joined the team in 2020, and his favourite things are "helping" to unload the biodegradable packing foam and spinning on the office chairs.
We are completely honoured to be able to share these beautiful plants with you, and when you use them, we hope you can feel the magic they are made with. We hope one day you'll join us in our real-life Physic Garden to share a cup of lemon myrtle tea!
xx Charelle - Founder and Naturopath at The Physic Garden
There's the magic we can measure; the active constituents, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants & fatty acids, and then there's the magic we can feel. The tranquility of the forest, the whispers of the trees, the faeries in the flowers and the humming of the bees. It's this magic that we capture in our products.
We do this by keeping our ingredients real, with minimal processing, we gently infuse our herbs into nourishing oils, keeping their magical essence in-tact. When your little pot arrives, we want you to feel those herbs nourishing your skin, and nurturing your soul.
That is our purpose, to bring the magic of plants to you.
We want to help keep this beautiful planet healthy for future generations to come. Therefore we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, and to operating ethically with kindness in everything we do. We are always striving to do our bit for the planet. All our products are:
Proceeds from the sale of our products goes towards creating a real-life Physic Garden in Victoria, Australia, for anyone to come and learn about the magic of medicinal herbs. We want the Physic Garden to help people get inspired and connected to plants. As well as the garden, we will run workshops to teach you how to concoct herbal remedies of your own, a cafe to enjoy the food from the garden, a studio for yoga, meditation and herbal talks, a nature clinic for natural therapies, a spa centre for ritual baths, floats and massage and a retreat centre.
We feel passionately that plants have the power to dramatically improve wellbeing as food, as medicine and by being in their presence. It is our vision to create the space for people to re-connect to plants and discover true wellness.
