Quilt Gardens Tour

As any good gardener knows one must make sacrifices in order to have a magnificent garden.  There is of course the initial investment but even more costly than that is the sacrifice of sweat equity that our dear Mother Nature demands in order to achieve our gardening goals.

The Quilt Garden Tour volunteers know all about sweat equity.  They have dealt with ferocious thunderstorms, drowning rain showers, and insect and critter damage throughout the summer.  Then the blistering heat arrived promising to dampen the enthusiasm of even the most ardent helpers.   Especially this year as our summer temperatures soared in the mid-nineties with heat indexes in three digit delirium.  All the while our steadfast crews were not deterred – much to their credit.  In spite of it all they have produced many fine exhibition gardens dotted all over Elkhart County.

In my capacity as a step on guide I have had the opportunity to hear first hand just how impressed our visitors are with these gardens and the many local attractions.  Yes, they are impressed with the gardens, but even more than that I hear over and over how friendly our community is.  They comment on how lucky we are to live here in such a relaxing environment.  They remark on how refreshing it is to see so many communities working together to make their county more attractive to visitors.  They marvel at the sacrifice so many volunteers make to ensure the success of our Quilt Gardens.

I agree with all of these comments and I am proud to consider myself a native of this caring community.   I find it so encouraging that others see the treasures that we take for granted.  It is a reminder to stop and appreciate Elkhart County and give thanks for the small town values we learned at the knee of our elders.  Values like hard work, determination, cooperation and sacrifice to achieve common goals.  Thank you to each any every one of the many people involved with Quilt Garden Tour 2010.  Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication to your hometown community and to the county we all call home.

We’ve reached the midpoint of our summer here in Northern Indiana.  The weather is predictably warm and so is the color found in our gardens.  Nature provides us with so many wonderful hues to enrich our lives.  Shades of red, yellow and orange remind us of the sunshine so plentiful this time of the year. Cool shades of purple, azure, pink and white provide a visual respite from the heat of summer.  No matter which color scheme you choose the reward is the same.  A break from the dull grey of our concrete lives in the cities and towns we call home. 
Our Quilt Gardens have been sketched, painted, photographed and written about by visitors from across this great country of ours. They are inspired by the imagination of a county intent upon telling the story of lives pieced together with remnants small and large to form the fabric of a community.  A blending of cultures both simple and complex stitched together and held by the thread of human experience.  This is what I find so alluring about the Quilt Garden Tour.  The art of a garden held so precious in the hearts of the people who tend them and the joy held by the visitors thrilled with the result. These colors and cultures unify our hearts and remind us that in nature there is no discrimination.

As I wandered through my gardens looking for just the right spot to plant a new ornamental grass I’d acquired my gaze settled on an old patch of ditch lilies I’ve been meaning to replace. When we first moved to our home as a young married couple I was thrilled to receive a few free plants from my favorite aunt. Now years later I find that I can be a bit more selective having the freedom to buy showier plants to include in my repertoire.

Just like my experience in my gardens the Quilt Garden Tour has evolved and become more selective by establishing a more discriminating set of guidelines for participating sites. The venues are no longer grandfathered in under older standards. Now each Elkhart County site is asked to provide visitors with better view ability by raising the bed to a significant angle or by adding a viewing platform. Each Quilt Garden is juried by a panel of local landscape designers, Master Gardeners, growers, and park professionals in order to provide a quality experience to visitors. In all there are ten standards that must be met by site applicants.

As we grow in our experience as gardeners we find that our taste in plant materials changes as we build confidence and knowledge. Our plant palette develops a more sophisticated air of distinguished elegance.   So too will the Quilt Garden Tour continue to learn and grow. Each season brings with it exciting new opportunities to make each year better than the one before.

Yes, I still love day lilies – even ditch lilies, but now I offer them homes in the meadow where they can be appreciated for their wild beauty as they tower over the other wildflowers.

Thanks to the volunteer efforts of master gardener’s Vickie Estep and Mary Davis plus design assistance of Sara Heeter, the 2010 QGT Master Gardener Guidebook is now on-line ready to be viewed, downloaded and appreciated by hundreds and hundreds of avid gardeners. 

Vickie worked countless hours researching plants and writing a colorful, compelling descriptive for each garden. You can almost smell the flowers when you read her copy.  Mary carefully researched the history and story behind each pattern, and she brings those patterns to life.  Sara provided the CAD Design assistance that makes the patterns nearly pop off the page.  Take a look at the results of their efforts at QuiltGardensTour.com .  It’s a great read.  And guaranteed; you’ll learn a lot!

The 2010 Quilt Gardens Tour is off to a great start! Fantastic pictures are starting to come in and I love that you can already see the patterns so clearly.

I have also posted a neat picture of the new viewing platform at Greencroft in Middlebury. This will make it very easy to get great angles for pictures.

Check out our gardens from week 1! View Photos

RSVP for the online party with your Twitter Link and Twitter ID below!

Click here to enter your link/RSVP for the party!

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Twitter Party! We’ll be online and in person at the Elkhart County Visitor Center talking about our Quilt Gardens and Hope Along the Heritage Trail.

The 2010 Quilt Gardens and Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer are partnering to raise funds for breast cancer research by raffling an original quilt wall hanging.

Please join Heidi Floyd, Development Ambassador for the Vera Bradley Foundation and Sonya Nash, Quilt Gardens Project Manager. Heidi will be talking about The Vera Bradley Foundation, the latest cancer research, inspirational stories, Vera Bradley products and more! Sonya will be on hand to answer your questions about the Quilt Gardens event. Of course we will have lots of fun prize opportunities for our Twitter Party guests!

WHEN:
Date: Wednesday, May 26th
Time: 12:30-1:30 (light lunch provided)
Hashtag: #QuiltGardenTour

Follow us on Twitter: @QuiltGardenTour @AmishCountry @FollowHeidi
Event Tweet Grid: Use the following link to set up a unique TweetGrid to follow the party hosts.  http://is.gd/c3eGi

If you plan on attending the Twitter Party live and in person, please give us a call 574.262.8161 or email eccconv@amishcountry.org and let us know you’re coming!

Registration: To be eligible to win great prizes!
1. RSVP by leaving your Twitter handle/username below where it says Click here to enter.
2. Tweet the details of the party before the start time and share the details with your friends.  Be sure to include @QuiltGardenTour, @AmishCountry, @FollowHeidi and post a link back here to RSVP.  (Be sure to add @QuiltGardenTour in your tweet).
3. Sit back and tweet with us during the party or join us at the Elkhart County Visitor Center during the event as we learn all about the 2010 Quilt Gardens Tour and Hope Along the Heritage Trail campaign!

Pre-register to win our Grand Prize! Anyone registering (according to the directions above) between now and May 25th by Noon EST will be entered to win one of our great prizes!

1. Grand Prize – A One Night’s Stay at Jameson Inn Elkhart!
2. Set of 2 Quilt Gardens Tour Travel Mugs (black)
3. Set of 2 Quilt Gardens Tour ceramic coffee mugs (red & blue)
4. Quilt Gardens Tour rain guage & reusuable grocery bagVera Bradley Clutch (retired pattern) & A Vera Bradley Lipstick holder (Loves Me pattern)
5. Vera Bradley Clear Lotion Bag (Hope Garden pattern) & A Vera Bradley Lipstick holder (Loves Me pattern)
6. Vera Bradley Mini Notebook (Hope Garden pattern)

Winners will be selected using Random.org from all party attendees following the instructions.  Must be 18 or older to register.  Open to residents of the US and Canada.  Canadian winners will be required to pay shipping. Registration is not required to attend the Twitter Party.

Elkhart County Visitor Center
219 Caravan Drive, Elkhart, IN 46561
We’re located in Elkhart at North Pointe Plaza, just off the I80/90 Toll Road (Exit 92) behind the Cracker Barrel Restaurant.

To RSVP and be registered for party prizes enter your Twitter username and link to your Twitter username below.
Example:
Blog or Link Title: @UserName
Link: http://www.twitter.com/UserName

RSVP for the online party with your Twitter Link and Twitter ID below!

Click here to enter your link/RSVP for the party!

If you plan on attending the Twitter Party live and in person, please give us a call 574.262.8161 or email eccconv@amishcountry.org and let us know you’re coming!

One might assume R & R to mean rest and relaxation, however in this case you would be mistaken. Our weather seems to be signaling an early fall season.  Cool days and even cooler nights send many messages to our landscape plants.  A hormonal shift occurs and the rapid growth of summer changes to seed setting and in many species spring bud development.

In the forest leaves fall and decay over the winter months providing a rich layer of humus packed with essential nutrients, micro-organisms and organic material.  This brings me to the first “R” in the title, Rejuvenation.  Mother Nature has set a well developed plan for successful gardening in this example. Fall is the best time to add soil amendments to the garden. Especially when adding organic materials such as compost or well rotted manure which mellows over winter “Rejuvenating” the garden which may have been depleted of minerals over the long growing season. Without this critical step many sites would look like a dust bowl of days gone by being unable to sustain new growth.

The second “R” represents “Re-evaluation”. Each Quilt Garden will re-evaluate their sites based on how each plant preformed in a given location.  The savvy gardener will carefully note the success or failure of each cultivar for future consideration in their garden. In the forest this process of re-evaluation is carried out through natural selection. The plants and trees that best compete for sun and moisture will gain the privilege of inclusion in nature’s garden thus ensuring its survival as a species.

With so many choices to make about rejuvenation and re-evaluation of each Quilt Garden you can be assured there will be no rest or relaxation for the decision makers of the Quilt Garden Tour.

I last spoke of the test the gardens will go through in the extremes of our warmest summer month.  It seems that many of the gardens are showing a bit of weather stress.  The gardeners do all they can to ensure a steady bloom for a good showing but just like in our lives there are some things you just can’t plan for.  Sometimes a gardener must do their best to take what nature brings and call it a lesson.

As I toured the gardens on the northeast side of the county this weekend I saw many examples of this principal being played out.  Several gardens were showing signs of the heat stress our hot August days dole out in generous portions.  And I heard that a summer hailstorm took its toll in Wakarusa.  I noticed that the heat dealt a death knoll to the Lobelia at the Essenhaus Garden.

All gardening is an experiment due to the fluctuations in seasonal weather patterns.  However the wildcard is always the bravado of the grower.  Should you press the limits of the plant and hope the conditions will favor your endeavor?  Or will you be challenged, as so many gamblers are to stand by and learn the lessons of chance and compromise?  Maybe the plant will flourish in your microclimate and your efforts will be rewarded.  Perhaps you will learn the lessons of a resilient gardener.

Each year brings a renewed opportunity to try something different.  The treasure of a new gardening adventure each season is the prize we all work for.  Now is the time for us to take an inventory of what worked and what didn’t in our gardens.  Now is the time we gardeners dream of the spring to come.   I wonder what the Quilt Garden Tour will be like next year?

-Vickie Estep, Master Gardener

The Wakarusa Chamber has a great opportunity for someone to win a replica of their 2009 “Dancing with Leaves Quilt Mural in the form of a Queen Sized quilt! Visit their website for more info

I’ve heard it said that anyone can have a beautiful spring garden but it’s difficult to have a stellar garden in the punishing heat of August.  While that may be true in my garden it is certainly not the case for the Quilt Garden Tour.  Most of the gardens are in spectacular form thanks to the dedicated work of many local gardeners who make their Quilt Gardens a priority.  With so many flowers to tend to these Quilt Garden guardians have put in many hours of backbreaking labor.

Last week was considered to be a peak viewing time for the Quilt Garden Tour.  Many of the annuals that were planted so many months ago have now reached their optimum growth and are showing off their Sunday best blooms.  Many regional artists came to town last weekend putting brush to canvas to capture the beauty that is unique to The Quilt Garden Tour.  Dubbed the Plein-Air Paint Out this first ever outdoors art event is yet another example of the unique opportunities Elkhart County Amish Country promises to visitors.

It is amazing to me to see how many visitors have been drawn to our area by this unique garden display.  Bus tours have poured into the county in droves bringing with them much needed revenue for local shop owners.  We have seen visitors from all across the United States and even many foreign countries.  With so many new impressions to be made each day it is lucky for us that Elkhart County residents display Hoosier Hospitality in abundance.