Hilltop blooms with education during summer season

Walking the grounds of IU’s Hilltop Garden and Nature Center on a sunny summer Thursday, recent graduate Samantha Ezzo stopped in front of a large tree with what looked like puffy pink flowers. \n“My favorite thing here changes every day,” said Ezzo, who is in charge of running the facilities and coordinating Hilltop’s Summer Youth Garden Program. “Today it’s the mimosa tree. Each bloom reminds me of a pink pompom.” \nIndeed, when one approaches the tree, the “petals” of the pink flowers separate and begin to resemble the pompoms cheerleaders wave. \nHilltop, located behind the Tulip Tree Apartments on 10th Street, has been around since 1948 and is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The center offers various classes and workshops in conjunction with IU and the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. Classes range from adaptive gardening, which offers techniques that make gardening more comfortable for the disabled to rain gardens that grow from the use of effectively routed rainwater. \n“Hilltop is an educational facility that serves the community with gardening, horticulture and health-enhancing activities,” Ezzo said. \nAlong the gravel road leading to Hilltop is another of Ezzo’s favorite features, “Libby’s Border,” which is full of day lilies. A tunnel covered in grapevines leads to the garden area. \nDifferent sections of the garden each have their own theme: medicinal plants from the pioneer days grow in the pioneer garden, herbs grow in the culinary garden and plants with large leaves can be found in the dinosaur garden. \nFor those wanting to get their hands dirty, 10-by-10-foot plots can be rented in the community garden section. All plots are currently taken, but renters change every so often. The cost is $45 per plot, and those living in IU housing can apply for a subsidized cost. Ezzo said the community garden “makes for a more family-like environment” because people who have plots are at Hilltop all the time. \nMuch of Hilltop’s summer activity comes through the Youth Garden Program, a 10-week-long summer day camp for kids that runs from June until the beginning of August. The program is in its 59th year and is the oldest of its kind, Ezzo said. This year’s 46 campers, called “Hilltoppers,” learn about gardening through crafts, guest speakers and even maintaining their own plots. \nThe children also maintain a garden in the community section called the “Garden for the Hungry.” Each year, the children plant vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions to be harvested and donated to the hungry. \n“It provides an opportunity for the Youth Garden Program to give back to the community,” Ezzo said. “Our Hilltoppers are very excited about it.” \nA field behind the gardens provides a place for Hilltop campers to play games in the afternoon or for visitors to have picnics. The council ring, located in the center of a group of trees, is where Ezzo rings a cowbell each morning to corral the campers and begin activities. The area also provides a cool spot under the canopy of leaves for campers to sit and enjoy a popsicle. \nWandering around Hilltop, the site’s history is evident. A tusk is missing from the mud structure campers use to make pizzas, called the “elephant oven,” and the smell of the tool shed and crafts building evokes images of a classic summer camp in the country, an ambience Ezzo enjoys. \n“This place has character,” Ezzo said. “I love it.”