According to Austin Herbalist Ginger Webb, owner of Texas Medicinals, the most useful remedies in the medicine cabinet are likely to be growing right in your own backyard.  Since 1999, Webb has used her botanical knowledge to enhance her clients’ health and to create a connection between people and the natural world around them.   Her love for the earth, coupled with her desire to use its natural resources to improve the lives of others, has resulted in a rewarding and enduring career.

 
Q:  What brought you to this profession?

 
A: I stumbled upon herbalism. I knew nothing about it in college. I have a Masters degree in French, and I discovered it while working in the environmental movement in Europe.  I was brainstorming about how to get people to care about the earth, when I realized that they have to be able to feel a connection.  I realized for myself that that’s what I needed as well - I wanted to be working more closely in connection with the earth.  I was probably 26 when I moved back to the States. I started taking classes, reading books and working at an herb store in New York City.  Then I moved back to Austin and got a job at the American Botanical Council. I realized there that I was limited in my understanding.  I had been learning about herbs but wanted to learn how to use them to help people.  Then I attended the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in Arizona.  My teacher, Michael Moore, has a strong focus on using the wild plants where you live.

 

 
A:  Sustainability wise, it just makes sense.  It fits into the go-local idea and bio-regionalism.  What is around you is what makes the most sense to use.  The other reason is because if you get a plant from somewhere else, you have no connection to that plant.  If you use the plants that grow around you, you have relationship with that plant.  You actually dig it up yourself and make medicine out of it.  When you learn how to use the plants that are growing at your doorstep, that is profound. 

 

 
A:  Well, I don’t diagnose. Only doctors can diagnose.  But when someone comes to me with health issues, I understand enough about physiology and plants to be able to give suggestions about what kind of plants might be able to support their health. I can help simply by using gentle and strengthening herbs that balance and strengthen a person, as opposed to just treating a disease.  If I have client who wants a custom formula, I sit down and discuss what’s going on.  I might make a tonic that they will take over time, several months perhaps, to subtly shift energies and fluids in the body.

 

 
A:  This is the midwives area of expertise, but the first one that comes to my mind is Nettles.  It’s an herb that I sell in bulk, a big bag of dark, green leaves that are incredibly mineral rich.  I advocate that people who are looking for more energy and strength or who maybe are feeling a little deficient use this herb daily to help build up their foundation of health. Oatstraw and Red Clover Blossom are particularly good for women who have fertility issues.  In terms of herbs used during childbirth, some midwives in town use Lobellia, which is useful for relaxing a woman during birth.  They also use an herb called Inmortal, which is known for increasing the efficiency of contractions during birth and after birth as well to get the uterus back in shape.  The root bark of the Cotton plant is a natural alternative to Pitocin.  It works synergistically with the oxytocin in a woman’s body.  I also offer adjunct therapies that are helpful postpartum, that includes things like herbal sitz baths that help a woman heal.  There are herbs to take during the postpartum period to help with emotions, milk production and to help manage afterpains. 

 

 
A:  Well, I’m completely biased.  I think that they’re better than standard medical approaches because these herbs do not come in and take over your birth process.  Herbal medicine helps support a woman as she gives birth. These have also been used a lot longer, for hundreds of years.  I call herbal medicine traditional medicine.

 

 
A: Yes, we make herbal teas and carry bulk herbs for infusions.  This is when you put a handful of herbs in a quart of boiling water to make a very strong tea.  It steeps for at least four hours, if not overnight.  The resulting drink is really health giving.  We also make tinctures and glycerides, which are extracts of herbs for internal use.  We do medicinal salves and have other body care products.  For mothers these include varicose vein liniment, perineum spray, nipple balm, and an herbal sitz bath. Everything that we make is on our website.

 

 
A: We do have a growing clientele. I think people are very accepting of it here in Austin.  I’m not trying to change minds about things, but I like when people notice what I do.  I think that going the natural way is best for me, but I try not to get judgmental about that for others.

 

 
A:  I love that I can do lots of different things. I get to work with people and to help them.  I get to work with plants and enjoy myself outside in the sun and the dirt.  I like to play in the kitchen and make medicine.  I like that I have huge library of books that run the gamut from geeky botany books to esoteric witchcraft books. The challenge is not having enough time to read everything that I want to read.  There is always more for me to learn.  I love that, but it is also what is so challenging about this type of work.

Ginger Webb has an office at Soma Vida at 1210 Rosewood Avenue in Austin, TX and can be reached by appointment by calling 512-476-8422.  Many local retail stores carry a variety of our products. For a nearly complete product line, try Plum Blossom Wellness Center (South Lamar), Wheatsville Co-op (on Guadalupe), or La Botanica Green & White (East 7th St.). For a complete list of retail stores, see our website. We can also call our offices to find what you need. And lastly, we will be selling our products at the Annual Blue Genie Art Bazaar:  http://www.bluegenieart.com/art_bazaar_2008.html. For more information about products and services, visit www.texasmedicinals.com.
 

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Julia Hockenberry is a writer and doula living in Marble Falls, TX. She studied vocal music at Florida State University and was a classical music announcer for WFDD radio in Winston Salem, NC before becoming a news anchor for WNAV radio in Annapolis, MD. Hockenberry has also written extensively for The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, MD, as well serving as a contributing writer to The River Cities Daily Tribune and The Highland Lakes Business Journal in Marble Falls. In addition to being a perpetual student in the dynamic fields of pregnancy and childbirth, Julia is married to husband, Jay, and has three children.