A Soap Bubble Adventure

In January 2025, Hills & Dales welcomed Horticulture Manager Valerie VanSweden to our staff. While some may have already had the pleasure of getting to meet Valerie in person, we thought you might be interested in learning a little bit more about her.

Tell us about yourself.
I am “God’s little soap bubble” – I’m amazed looking back at my career path, the timing of new opportunities, and the places I’ve been. Born in Michigan, my family moved to Florida when I was a toddler “because the weather was better for my brother’s adenoids.” Right. Or maybe the complete absence of winter enticed my snow-weary parents.

College took me to Kentucky where I gained a lot of practical experience in television production while I earned my BA in Broadcast Communications. CNN hired me about 6 months after I graduated. I worked in the live control room (pressure cooker) in news production, and finally for the sports department before I left after almost 10 years.

Trying to have each of my two daughters was also “soap bubble” adventures. They are now growing into responsible adults with kind hearts.

After leaving CNN, I went back to school to earn a degree in Environmental Horticulture at Gwinnett Tech with an emphasis in landscape design. I devoured the classes and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.

What is your gardening experience?
I started out doing landscape designs, and pretty soon I was working for people who wanted to redesign their gardens in real time, with a shovel. That experience, combined with my degree, landed me a job as an assistant horticulturist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. I tended nearly all of the areas, eventually finding my niche as the Curator of the Aquatic Plant Collection. Teaching classes, writing articles, and speaking to groups turned out to be just as fun as wielding a shovel.

After 10 years at ABG, I was recruited to become the Curator of Goizueta Gardens at the Atlanta History Center. There were definitely ample projects that allowed me to get filthy with the staff, but I was hired in part to accomplish some grant-funded initiatives. One was to develop a children’s experience with a very modest budget (which required me to get really creative). The other was to research and write the rough draft for the Cultural Landscape Report for the 33-acres that are Goizueta Gardens. I crammed a lot of learning and creating into the 5 years I was there.

Then, there were The Lost Years. An odd stint selling concrete pots and garden furniture, COVID, working with a startup, 2 ½ years as a full-time landscape designer/estimator/project manager, a year as the garden center manager for the greatest Ace Hardware on the planet (in Decatur) – all farther and farther away from my true love of public gardening.

When I saw this opportunity to work at Hills & Dales, I thought perhaps I could commute from Tucker. Once I’d interviewed and met a few people, I knew LaGrange and the estate were right for me.

How did you get interested in horticulture?
Like a lot of people, once I had a home of my own, I wanted to make it beautiful inside and out. I signed up for the Master Gardener program, and I just couldn’t get enough of all the things I was learning. Now I realize how disconnected we “civilized” humans are from nature, and I am striving to be a better partner to our planet.

Favorite plant?
On our honeymoon many years ago, my brand-new husband and I visited Yosemite. When I stood among the mind-blowingly enormous Sequoia, I was left in awe. So few things leave that kind of lasting mark on us these days. I’m grateful to have had that experience.

Favorite season?
I started at exactly the right time at Hills & Dales. It snowed twice in my first seven days here. I don’t love winter, but it tees up the explosion of spring perfectly. The growing warmth, sunlight, and nearly tangible energy in the air always makes spring my favorite season.

What do you like to do in your down time?
Single motherhood necessitated working nearly every weekend doing side jobs. Now that the kids are (mostly) grown, I’m VERY excited about exploring LaGrange on Saturdays and Sundays. I can’t wait to take every art class available!

What are you most looking forward to about this job?
As I get to know Sarah Ferrell, Ida Callaway, and Alice Callaway, I look forward to honoring each of them for their tremendous labors on this living work of art. I can’t wait to really dig in to organize records, set goals, and find more ways to keep Hills & Dales as a must-see destination.

Please join us in wishing Valerie the best of luck as she continues to experience her first year at Hills & Dales Estate! –HM & VV