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..."What
I love more than anything else is gardening. It's so peaceful and
relaxing, so close to nature and to God." That heartfelt declaration
from Bill Varney is not surprising. At eight he received a greenhouse
as a birthday gift; when he was twelve he was selling plants to
his mother's friends; and by the time he married Salvia, hew was
a successful nurseryman in Houston.
When
the two decided to have a child, both agreed they didn't want to
raise a family in the city. So the Varneys explored the Texas Hill
Country until they found their personal Utopia; Fredericksburg,
a lovely little town settled by German immigrants in 1846. Bill
was offered the job of managing a nursery, but Sylvia, who had worked
in the oil and gas business found she was considered overqualified
for available jobs. She solved that career dilemma by hiring herself.
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Sylvia...has
taken on baking sweets to accompany tea and developing specialties
like English Lavender Lemonade, a wonderful drink made with equal
parts of lemonade and a special tea brewed with English lavender,
lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon thyme, and fresh mint. The drink
proved so popular, the Varneys offer it as a mix.
Bill
has shaped a role as the "nose" of the business, working
out the scents for the line of exclusive fragrances. Without formal
training, he has learned much about perfume oils from his brother,
and expert on the subject. The first of these perfumes, also available
as potpourri and bath shower gel, we Bluebonnet, based on the
gloriously scented wildflower that blankets the fields of Texas
every spring. Another specialty is Fleurs de Redstone, inspired
by wildflowers that grow on the famous Redstone Ranch. The aim,
Bill says, " is to get a combination of oils that smell like
the flower," a task that requires patient blending and a
superb sense of smell.
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In
addition to their individual areas of expertise, the Varneys collaborate
on many a product — they have developed a line of dried mixes
such as herbal Salsa and Herb N' Cheddar popcorn seasoning; teas
with such names as Mother-To-Be, a blend Sylvia used while pregnant,
or Texas Cooler, a refreshening mix of alfalfa and mint; and a line
of herbs for the grill.
"I
never thought our business would flourish like this, says Bill,
who is busy masterminding a new mail-order catalog. But if Varney's
Chemist has a secret to its success, it is that its owners share
what they love. "When someone spends an hour sitting on the
porch having tea, maybe buying a plant, enjoying the peacefulness,
we're content to have provided a little bit of happiness."
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