Local group tours many area gardens

The Bloomington Garden Club will tour diverse and private gardens this weekend in its 15th annual Summer Garden Walk from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, which includes Hilltop Garden and Nature Center and Oliver Winery.\n"The summer garden walk is great because you are able to view so many different types of gardens, from very big to small and personal," said Pat Bartlett, a member of the Bloomington Garden Club.\nThe tour begins at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, 2301 E. 10th St., and continues through the other gardens. Each year the club chooses different private gardens to appear in their walk. This year's gardens are selected to represent all of the many aspects of gardening. \n"Each garden in the walk is designed by the individual homeowner, except for Oliver (Winery), which has a master gardener," said Linda Blair, co-chair of garden walk.\nBloomington resident Marsha Barreiro has been involved twice with the summer garden walk. In 1991 and 1998, she showed her personal garden, which she described as colonial and simple. She said she looked forward to this year's walk.\n"There are so many wonderful gardeners in Bloomington and so many different types of gardens to see," she said.\nBarbara Shalucha, former IU professor of botany, founded Hilltop in 1948 to promote community gardening. The center is now a source of pride to many members of the community involved with it. \nHilltop is known throughout the world for its youth garden and educational programs. Young people ages seven to 16 are taught everything from composting to the ecological principles of organic gardening, and they are able to bring home their own produce. \nGarden plots are also available to all members of the community for an annual fee of $60. For more information about Hilltop, visit its Web site at www.indiana.edu/~hilltop. \nThere will be volunteers and garden club members to help answer questions and identify plants throughout the tour. There will also be some descriptions provided. \nDuring the walk, Hilltop will be offering garden tours and refreshments. The garden club will be arranging a flower show with over 100 different arrangements. The Limestone Daylily and Hosta Society is also participating in the event by contributing by selling plants from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The majority of proceeds will go to Hilltop Garden and Nature Center programs.\n"Ninety-five percent of the proceeds will go to Hilltop and the other 5 percent will go to small non-profit organizations that will benefit the Bloomington community," Blair said.\nThis year the Oliver Winery, 8024 N. Highway 37, will be added as a seventh location. Locally owned and operated, the Oliver Winery has been opened to the public since the spring of 1972. The winery encompasses 15 acres of land.\n"The addition of the Oliver Winery is nice because it shows all of the things a commercial place of business can do," Bartlett said. "We will be able to view all of the flowers, stone accents and lighting that make the gardens look the way they do."\n-- Contact staff writer Jacquelyn Janowski at jjanowsk@indiana.edu .