Dan Ziomek

Dan Ziomek has been working in the garden center industry since 1988. He honed his plant knowledge over 32 years at the former Hadley Garden Center. Dan is now managing Sugarloaf Gardens in Sunderland and looking forward to watching it grow and become a leading local garden center. He has helped thousands of customers make informed plant choices throughout his career. 

Dan is a lifelong resident of Amherst and lives there with his wife Emily and their two children Nate (17) and Sophie (15). When Dan is not working he enjoys working in his own yard,bird watching,hiking and fishing. Dan also still helps out on the family farm in North Amherst every summer harvesting their tobacco crop.

Eliza Healy

Whenever time allows, you will always find Eliza hard at work in her ever-growing garden closely watched by her Corgi, Maggie. She lives in Plainfield with her husband and two sons. Eliza enjoys sharing her love of plants, nature and color with others and is always hoping to help them fall in love with gardening too.

She has spent the last 23 years working as a gardener at Snow & Sons Landscaping and is now the Assistant Manager at Sugarloaf Gardens. She has a bachelor’s of General Studies with a Concentration of General Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Massachusetts.

Kevin Hollister

Born and Raised in the hills of Colrain/Shelburne MA, Kevin graduated from Stockbridge School of Agriculture in 1978 with a degree in Landscaping and from UMASS Amherst in 1991 with a degree in Urban Forestry. He has been working in the Horticulture field since 1974.

Kevin is a previous Vice President of the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association and Chairman of the Massachusetts Certified Horticulture program. He has worked for various garden centers and landscapers throughout New England. Kevin is married with three children and enjoys singing, cooking and bicycle riding.

Vallerie Miller

Val is a dedicated gardener that has a great love for plants and working outside. She has a broad horticulture knowledge and loves to focus on a variety of plants, including native and wetland plants. She is an avid birder and enjoys developing gardens that support birds, pollinators and other wildlife.