Marc, a picker with golden fingers
TiL is a holistic beauty and self-care brand, whose creation was entirely guided by the holistic tree par excellence, the linden tree. Not just any linden trees, but the more than century-old linden trees from the family estate in Dordogne, rooted for generations, in the heart of the Regional Natural Park, far from all cultivation and human intervention.
They are the ones who provide the flowers, leaves, buds and branches, with multiple soothing and regenerating virtues, constituting the active ingredient in TiL cosmetic formulas; and they too who, with their delicious fragrance, inspired the talented perfumer Francis Kurkdjian to create the delicate Eau qui Enlace, the TiL perfume.
To take care of them, pamper them and harvest them, with all due respect to these venerable trees, an extraordinary man was needed. We interviewed Marc, a great expert and lover of trees.
How did you get into the TiL field?
"I am a producer of aromatic and medicinal plants and at the same time a specialist in trees. I have been working in the field of trees for 30 years, notably as a climbing herbalist. This is how I met the Polette sisters and came across the TiL adventure to carry out their project of picking and growing linden trees on their property.
There are rooted large linden trees that you see around me, present for more than a hundred years, some even almost 200 years."
What are the specificities of TiL linden trees?
"In the area are rooted large linden trees that you see around me, present for more than a hundred years, some even almost 200 years.
All picking is done on silver linden trees, which are easily recognized since they have a green side and a silver side. These are very honey-producing linden trees, therefore with a lot of smell. Stronger than the linden trees that we know more classically when we are in a town hall square or a village square. "
When does the picking take place?
"For picking, we necessarily wait for the big day when at least three flowers out of five bloom, because, generally, the linden flower is made up of five small flowers hanging on the same bracts.
This is the optimal time for picking. This year, it corresponded with the solstice, that is to say an even more important moment, because we try to transmit, through the products that we harvest, the energy of the place, the kindness of the people who take care of this land and also the history of the place.
At each time of the year, there are slightly different properties. There, we are on the last pickings, those of flowers and leaves.
We started in spring with the young buds and young branches, full of sap; the buds before hatching which contain all the characteristics of the future plant. Because the bud is the young branches, the young leaves and the young flowers in preparation for a few months.
Afterwards the leaves appear, then the flowers. "
Why is the linden tree so sought after by man?
"The linden tree has heart-shaped leaves. This clearly shows that it is the tree of the heart, the tree of medicine, the tree also of palaver and great evenings of exchanges in the squares where in the past, we took pleasure in putting a bench there and enjoying of its very cool shade. You should know that a tree is like us, all day long, it breathes, but it also releases a large quantity of water into the air and atmosphere.
Approximately 90% of the water that it pumps into the ground for its daily life is released in the form of mist into the atmosphere, which reduces the extreme heat.
This is why we always have the impression of being cooler under a tree, but it's not just the shade provided by the tree. There is also the humidity it releases on a daily basis. Here, in the area, we have the advantage of being bordered by linden trees and therefore of breathing daily and feeling all the benefits that the linden tree can bring us."
How long does the picking take?
"The duration is quite short. As soon as a linden tree begins to flower, usually 3 to 4 days, five days maximum, flowering ends. We are lucky here to have many linden trees of different ages, which have different exposures, and therefore flower a little out of sync. We thus manage to have a picking period which can extend over two weeks, which makes our work easier because otherwise it would be very complicated to organize."
