GROW YOUR OWN DRUGS

Easy recipes for natural remedies and beauty fixes

by JAMES WONG

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New large hardcover book, 224 pages. First published in 2009.

Whether you're struggling with insomnia, the kids have eczema, or your partner is feeling under the weather, this book could have the answer.

With easy recipes ethnobotanist James Wong shows how to make simple creams, salves, teas and much, much more from the stuff growing in your window box, the local garden centre or in the hedgerows. Using the flowers, fruit, roots, trees, vegetables and herbs that are all around us, James provides preparations to help relieve a whole range of common conditions, including acne, anxiety, cold sores and general aches and pains - plus great ideas for beauty treats such as bath bombs and shampoos.

Inspired by his grandmother in Malaysia who taught him about the health-giving properties of plants, James uses his top class academic knowledge to show how easy - and cheap - it is to make creams, lotions, lozenges and more which can help relieve the symptoms of a variety of common complaints. He reveals how many plants contain the same active ingredients as over-the-counter drugs and chooses his Top 100 plants to grow or buy, complete with ideas for a whole range of uses.

So unleash the power of plants and soothe the symptoms of everyday ailments the natural way.

About the Author

James Wong is an ethnobotanist, author and UK television presenter. He was born in London to a Malaysian father and British mother, and raised in Singapore and Malaysia. After finishing secondary school, James was awarded an academic scholarship and returned to the UK in 1999 to study at the University of Bath. He then trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and the University of Kent, gaining a Master of Science degree in Ethnobotany, graduating with distinction. His research has taken him to highland Ecuador, as well as to China and Java. He lives in Twickenham, South West London.

Wong is a triple RHS medal winner for gardens he co-designed through the design studio he co-founded, Amphibian Designs, at the Chelsea Flower Show and the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. He has designed an Ethnobotanical Garden for the University of Kent, where he is a guest lecturer.
Wong has written for a number of publications, from the BBC Gardening Website, to The Metro's environment column, on a wide range of botanical topics.
Wong has been the Media Relations Officer of the charity Botanic Gardens Conservation International with his job described as "translating hard-core plant science into lively, engaging stories for the press, radio and TV".

Wong became the presenter of his own 6-part television series Grow Your Own Drugs in March 2009. The series demonstrated a number of natural remedies sourced from plants. Wong also wrote the book Grow Your Own Drugs: Easy Recipes for Natural Remedies and Beauty Fixes , a tie-in with the television show. The series was followed by a one-off Christmas special, Grow Your Own Christmas. In early 2010, a follow up to Grow Your Own Drugs was published - Grow Your Own Drugs: A Year with James Wong, which features 100 more natural remedies and recipes.

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Grow Your Own Drugs - James Wong