A natural way to glow

Many of us have some fresh herbs at home, whether it's a pot of basil bought at the supermarket or a bed of mint, parsley, rosemary or chives growing in the back garden.

We're accustomed to using herbs in our cooking – but herbs as beauty tool? Jekka McVicar, Britain's best-known organic herb grower, says it's time we opened our eyes to the power of herbs, not simply to add flavour to our cooking but for healing and beauty aids, too.

Jekka – who received another gold medal at Hampton Court Flower Show (and "best in show" for the second year) to add to her other 60 golds – says herbs have been used cosmetically for thousands of years.

The ancient Egyptians perfumed their hair with marjoram oil, for example, and Roman soldiers used to rub fragrant oils such as lavender into their skin after bathing.

There's no reason why we can't follow in their footsteps and harness the power of herbs to create our own beauty aids, says Jekka, whose organic herb farm is based at Alveston in South Gloucestershire.

"I'm not a herbalist but I'm fascinated by the power of herbs," she says. "Eighty-four per cent of our medicine is plant-derived, but we've lost two generations of gardening expertise and knowledge.

"When I first started 25 years ago, there were still all these wise old guys I could go to to ask advice, but they're not here any more."

However, Jekka has noticed a big change in attitudes towards both gardening and the use of chemical preservatives in recent years.

People are now far more concerned about what they're putting on their skin than ever before, recognising, perhaps, that the skin is the body's largest organ. The trend has sparked a boom in organic beauty products, and this is where using your own homegrown herbs comes in.

Jekka says: "The future of herbs and our well-being are totally entwined and I'm finding that young people are taking this up.

"A lot of the people who come to my open days now are young. Everyone is at last getting in to gardening, and herbs fulfil every criteria – they look good, smell good and do you good."

But can you really grow your own beauty aids? Of course, says Jekka, ushering me into her nursery. It's a delight for the eyes and nose, with rows of beautifully scented herbs, buzzing with bees and insect life.

Jekka first started growing herbs in her back garden at Filton in Bristol, but soon ran out of space and moved to Alveston in 1987. She and her husband Mac (a satellite engineer in the space industry) and their two young children spent two years living in the mobile home which is now her office.

She started with 120 varieties of herb – now she has more than 600 from all over the world, including many you won't find in the average suburban back garden.

These include the Chinese pomegranate and the South African cancer bush ("kankerbos") – "it's been proved scientifically that it stops tumours from growing," says Jekka.

As we stroll along the rows of plants, Jekka seems to know each one individually, running her hands through their leaves almost unconsciously as she passes on snippets of information.

There's the chaste berry ("the monks used it to stop them feeling randy"), the burn jelly plant ("it's also used for herpes") and yarrow ("the scourge of posh gardens, it makes blood congeal – the SAS use it").

And, surprisingly, there's also the common dandelion ("it's good for digestion, the root has been used for centuries for detoxifying the liver"). Every now and again Jekka stops, picks a leaf, crushes it between her fingers and hands it to me to smell. Its pungent aroma fills the air.

Jekka has always gardened organically, although when she started, the movement was viewed with suspicion.

"I was told I'd poison people – can you believe it?" she chuckles. "But I believed it was the future. I couldn't understand why people couldn't see that organic was the natural way to produce plants."

Not surprisingly, Jekka uses herbs all the time – and not just in cooking. She loves using herbs in the bath.

"Mint leaves are particularly good if I'm tired," she says, "and lavender is very relaxing – a handful of flowers in a muslin bag under the hot tap is as effective as any essential oil. And a great cure for gardener's back is a decoction of thyme added to bath water, it's good for aches and pains."

She stops at a plant with bright yellow-orange flowers. This is great for the skin, she says, adding that she makes her own moisturiser from it. It's calendula officinalis – or common pot marigold to you and I.

"Anything that has the Latin word 'officinalis' in the name was officially used by the ancient apothecaries," adds Jekka.

Making your own beauty aids isn't hard, she says. Her book New Book Of Herbs (£12.99, Dorling Kindersley) contains easy-to-follow recipes – why not try them for yourself?

Jekka's Herb Farm is at Rose Cottage, Shellards Lane, Alveston (tel: 01454 418878). She's holding open days this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with herb talks at 11am and 2.30pm, and will also be at the Soil Association's Organic Food Festival in Bristol on September 6 and 7.