At Magic Secret Garden in Contoocook, you really have a chance to stop and smell the roses.
Or rose petals, you could say, ground up into a mixture of bluebell flowers and chamomile, which you can then use as a tea or a scent to calm yourself down. It’s just one of the many things you can find at the newest store on Contoocook’s Main Street.
And while the business that has taken the place of Sorella Flower Company – which recently closed its retail space to operate as a floral studio – the same calm, botanical vibe still remains. Patrons can buy essential oils and their own herb mixtures, which they might know from owner Jeanette Klan’s presence on the farmers market circuit, as well as baked goods from Blakeney’s in Hopkinton.
Klan said she has always been drawn to the idea of natural healing, but the inspiration for her store came after she needed some healing herself: She fell down a granite staircase last year and was confined to bed rest for the first 21/2 months. She was wary of using chemical treatments to heal, and so turned to chiropractics and natural muscle relaxers she created herself once she was able to move, which she later brought to local farmers markets.
“It was more well-received than I thought it would be,” she said. “People started calling me the oil lady.”
So what can these oils do, you might ask? Klan said she has developed concoctions for everything from stress relief to nightmare reducers for children. Herbs are local if possible, but also imported from places such as Japan and Peru.
But plant-based healing isn’t the only natural part of Magic Secret Garden – patrons can also check out Klan’s selection of cast-stone garden items which she and her husband, Aelxander Klan, make in Hopkinton. Products can be anything from fountains to figurines, and if you don’t see something you like, Klan has a catalog patrons can peruse.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrew.)