Family Gardening Program

The Family Gardening Program at Hilltop provides a fun, hands on, garden learning environment in which families work and grow together through gardening.
Free for families with children ages 3-9.
Focus on growing edible plants (including fruits, vegetables, and herbs) as well as flowers.
Families register for one of four time slots and come to Hilltop once per week during the time slot they’ve registered for (families are welcome to attend alternate program times if they have a scheduling conflict):
- Wednesdays from 6:30pm – 8pm
- Thursdays from 6pm – 7:30pm
- Saturdays from 8:30am – 10am
- Saturdays from 10:30am – 12pm
The program will begin the week of April 1st and go through the week of October 10th.

A ‘family’ must include at least one responsible adult who is 18 years or older, and one child.
There is no limit to how many people may participate per family.
Not all family members are required to come to each weekly program, as long as at least one child and one adult attend each week.

A ‘family’ must include at least one responsible adult who is 18 years or older, and one child.
There is no limit to how many people may participate per family.
Not all family members are required to come to each weekly program, as long as at least one child and one adult attend each week.

Participants are expected to attend each week.
Program space is limited, so please only register if you are able to commit to consistent program attendance and participation.
If your family will not be able to attend one week, we request that you notify the instructor and if possible, ask another family in the program to take care of your garden for you until you return.
Because maintaining a garden plot requires weekly attention, participants who do not attend for more than 2 consecutive weeks without notifying the instructor may forfeit their garden plot and their spot in the program.

Tools are available for participating families to use while working in their garden plot at Hilltop.

Close-toed shoes are required to protect feet and toes.
On warm days, we recommend families bring water bottles to stay hydrated while working outside in the gardens.

Participants in the program receive weekly gardening instruction through hands-on, family friendly gardening activities.
Each family is provided with a garden plot at Hilltop that they maintain through the 2026 growing season.
Plants and seeds are provided, and participants are able to utilize Hilltop’s tools while growing their garden plot.
Participants take home the produce and flowers grown in their garden plot.

Registration is required to participate in the program.
To register complete the registration form linked below, and don't forget to click the red arrow at the bottom to submit.
A limited number of spaces are available in the program. Once those spaces have been filled, the registration link will be inactivated.
There are a limited number of spaces available in the Family Gardening Program, so please only register if you are able to commit to consistent program attendance and participation.

Thank you to the groups below for their support of the youth gardening programs at Hilltop:
- Monroe County Master Gardener Association
- Bloomington Garden Club
- George E. Archer Foundation

Hilltop Gardens social media channels