Quilt Gardens Tour

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.

Dutch Country Market

Norman loves flowers, so he and his family were very excited when Dutch Country Market was juried-in as an official quilt garden site. Since there are eight members in the Lehman family, their “Eight Birds” pattern is quite fitting.

The family works as a team on the garden, although Norm says the girls seem a little more enthusiastic than the boys. And he admits there is a bit of incentive; he promised the family a trip to Colorado.

They did have some extra help to plant the garden’s 4,000 flowers. Obviously hard work and extra hands paid off. The garden was done 24 hours after the flowers were delivered! The quilt garden is a long-term commitment for the Lehman clan, and they like the challenge of changing patterns. “We’ve already picked out the pattern for next year,” says Norman.

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

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.

Each quilt garden site has it’s own very special challenges.  Many of the gardens have been elevated for optimum viewing which brings the challenge of effective watering practices.  The plants at the top may dry out more quickly due to the enhanced run off created by steep slopes.  Other sites seem to have poor topsoil due to the lack organic humus or compost.  Northern Indiana tends to have a fair amount of sandy loam.  This is great for drainage but not so for moisture retention and nutrition of ornamentals.  Even with the best fertilization schedule plants may fail to thrive if the soil is deficient.

August promises dog days of intense heat and pop up thunderstorms. Each garden will have to endure blazing sun, the ravages of hard rains and possible high winds.  In addition to these challenges (as if that were not enough) fungal diseases, insects and animals all have the potential to frustrate even the seasoned gardener.

A case in point is the quilt garden at the Elkhart County Fair Grounds.  The sumptuous red heart at the top of the garden was severely damaged in a night raid by raccoons.   The next morning the heart was no more than a few remaining begonias at the fringes of the pattern.  This garden is tended by the Michiana Master Gardeners who quickly set traps to catch the ring-tailed menace.  Alas only one of the fairground barn cats ventured into the trap.  There was no sign of injury to the kitty, which was of course quickly repatriated to the fair grounds to hunt for mice another day.  The flowers have been replaced and the heart is once again looking healthy and lush.

If your garden gives you reason for concern and you just can’t figure it out remember that the Michiana Master Gardeners Association hosts a hot line in the Elkhart County Extension Office to help you with just such challenges.  Our Master Gardener motto is “Helping Others Grow” and we invite you to put our words to the test!

I had the opportunity to view most of the quilt gardens again last week and I’m hard pressed to choose a favorite. There are of course several that stand out in my mind. I love the garden at the Das Essenhaus. The “Center Diamond” pattern has proven to be a spectacular choice. Their choice of plant material is stunning.

I’m also partial to the “Flower Basket” at Ruthmere Mansion. They chose to include Telstar Dianthus, which is performing beautifully. This garden is patterned after a quilt in their private collection, which adds to the historic relevance of the garden. I only wish they would have elevated it for better viewing.

Another favorite is the one at the Old Bag Factory named “A Birds Eye View”. Designer Shirley Shenk out did herself with this pattern. I am anxiously awaiting the periscope installation that will give us the superior view promised in the pattern name.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention “Recovery” at the McCormick Golf Course in Nappanee. This community endured almost total destruction last year during the tornado season and now this garden reminds us that where disaster strikes beauty will return to erase the ill-fated memories best left behind. This is the only garden using Coleus and it appears to be a stunner! It really adds contrast and interest to the saw tooth border that surrounds the design.

We’ll see how the season plays out but if the early views of the quilt gardens are any indication it will be hard to choose a favorite. I‘d like to see the addition of a viewer’s choice award so that the public could vote on their favorite gardens. Perhaps someone at the ECCVB might be able to add it to their website. Now wouldn’t that be fun?