Herbs & Things good for the body

Chubby Checker for aches and pains, Patsy Cline for cold and flu and Perry Como for headaches.

These are just a few of the superstar singers of yesteryear whose names have been assigned by Marie Boyce and John Durston to their herbal teas.

The herbs have been grown in the garden, on the bank of the Mad River, behind John and Marie’s Emporium since 1996 when they bought the Mill Street property.

Marie walks through the garden naming plants and easily rhyming off their healing qualities.

She and John won’t be at the Creemore Farmers’ Market this year, for the first time in 18 years but their shop will remain open. They have been at the market since opening day, selling handmade herb based products under the Herbs n’ Things label.

Some of the herbs are made into ointments, essential oils, lozenges and sleep pillows. Others are dried, using a homemade dehydrator powered by light bulbs. Culinary herbs like sweet marjoram, spearmint, apple mint and lemon verbena, are sold in whole leaf form to keep the goodness in and retain the flavour, says Marie.

Some are blended into remedy teas – skullcap for stress, chamomile to help you sleep and stinging nettle as a general tonic.

Marie combined chamomile and apple mint to make her very first tea blend called “simply wonderful”, a bestseller to this day. An interest in herbal remedies spurred Marie to learn more about growing her own plants and blending herbs by taking seminars and reading books.

The booth at the Farmers’ Market has become a bit too much for the couple, both of whom have had major surgery in the past two years,

John and Marie’s Emporium, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, is located at 104 Mill St.