Biography

Like many herbies, Jackie’s interest in plants began in her mother’s garden. She took intermittent time off along the way for college, marriage, a son and a stint at breeding, training and showing Arabian reining horses (who are now geriatric pasture ornaments). “Herbs, I’ve found, are like riding a bike – you never forget. They just take a place on the back burner and wait for you to need them once again, and then it all comes back.” Jackie prides herself in using both sides of her brain: She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration (minor Business and Paralegal Studies) but she is also a Naturopathic Doctor. “I work as an auditor at a Wisconsin Indian Tribe, and use the left side of my brain – it must be proven for me to accept. When I go home, my right brain prevails; creative living with nature where color, visuals, and patterns rule.” Jackie lives in a rural area near Green Bay, Wisconsin (GO PACK) and owns the Planhigion Herbal Learning Center and Hiraeth Herb Shed. She regularly schedules classes and informal gatherings where people come to learn about and work with plants and other modalities for a holistic lifestyle. (Planhigion means Plant in Welsh. Hiraeth is Welsh for “the soul’s longing for what it once knew”). Jackie has taught throughout the Midwest to herb and garden groups, Master Gardener conferences, and botanical gardens and nature centers. Her own gardens are filled with naturalized, planted, and native plants which are harvested, seed collected, processed, and used as needed. She is also the editor for the Wisconsin Herbalist, a free quarterly zine written by herbies and gardeners. She’s a Wisconsin Master Gardener, on the board of the Herb Society of America as Publications Chair, and a member of several Wisconsin herb groups.