Grow Your Own Drugs

In this opening episode, James sets out to reinvent our perception of common and garden herbs. His simple, cheap but highly original recipes include an angelica stomach soother for indigestion, a fragrant anti-dandruff hair oil, and an insecticidal wormwood and sage repellent to help banish the pesky clothes moth. Members of the public try James's remedies and are often surprised by the results.

In a fascinating blend of gardening, cookery, science and history, James shows us how to use turmeric to help ease muscular aches and pains, whips up a moisturising body cream from something you would normally have for breakfast, invites two willing members of the public to try his pungent onion gargle for their recurring sore throats, and shows how to grow watercress on your kitchen work top and transform it in to a mouth watering and vitamin packed soup, ideal if you're a bit anaemic.

Although his natural remedies for everyday minor ailments frequently use plants that we would consider to be exotic, many of these will grow really well in our own back gardens. James shows us how to use lemongrass in an insect repellent spray, transform olive leaves into a pampering face mask, make a soothing burns treatment from aloe vera and chamomile and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, reveals that, not only can you grow tea bushes in this country, you can also turn them into a zingy mouthwash to help fight plaque and freshen breath.

James focuses on petals, turning chamomile into a luxurious bath milk and honeysuckle and jasmine into soothing jellies for sore throats. Members of the public are impressed by his ear drops made from mullein flowers, while James puts his money where his mouth is and bravely tries out his own rose petal leg waxing treatment. He shows us how to make a chamomile seat and sniffs out the most fragrant rose varieties.