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 need planters for the Quilt Gardens Tour.  If you love this tour, and have wanted to know what it takes to plant a garden, this is for you.  Volunteers are needed at most all sites.

Here are the Gardens and the days of planting.

Nappanee Garden Committee is planting May 18 at 9-11; 1-3; 5-7
MennoHof is planting May 20
Meadow Brook  Farm is planting May 22
Elkhart Parks Department is planting on May 24
Middlebury Greencroft is planting on May 24-25
Linton’s is planting May 25
Ruthmere is planting May 25
Amish Acres planting on May 25
Krider Gardens is planting on May 26
Wakarusa is planting their town garden on May 26-28
American Countryside Farmers Market is plating May 27-29
Old Bag Factory is planting on May 27 at 1pm

Please leave us a comment on where you would like to volunteer, and then email me at Mindy@amishcountry.org with name and your contact information.  That way I can let you know times and other information that the site operators may need from you.

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

This year the Quilt Gardens Tour℠ introduces its first official “agri-quilt” garden.  The site of this pilot garden, Meadow Brook Farm, is a Civil War era farmstead located just outside the city limits of Goshen. Owner Kori Cripe recently opened her home and farm for public tours.

Planted in a “Grandmother’s Fan” pattern with soybeans, sunflowers, alfalfa, buckwheat, corn and red geraniums, this quilt garden introduces an exciting new element to this year’s tour that perfectly complements the rural heritage of Amish Country.  It also marries well with its location, since the farmstead was once the site of Farm Betterment Club Fairs, huge community-wide celebrations that drew the Indiana governor, congressmen and judges to speak at the event.

It seems only natural to feature an “agri-quilt” garden on the tour: it also presents certain challenges that are not experienced in quilt gardens that use ornamental annuals and flowers.  This mixed crop quilt garden contains plants that will grow in varying heights. There may be an issue with pattern consistency and view ability, and with shade created by the larger crops such as corn next to smaller plants in the garden. Crops also attract different insects than annuals and must be guarded against worms, grubs and bores. So do you use pesticide? If so what kind?  And it must be factored in that crops’ needs are different than those of annuals– watering, feeding – especially during growing season.
Each of the plants in the “agri-quilt” garden will be in different stages of development during the Quilt Gardens Tour℠ viewing season.   Even though the garden relies heavily on texture to convey the pattern, color plays a big role.  As crops mature their color can change dramatically.  So it will be interesting to observe the “look” of the garden throughout the season.

All the Quilt Gardens Tour℠ partners are eagerly looking forward to the introduction of an agricultural quilt garden to the mix, most of all Kori.  She wants the garden to be a “home-grown” experience that’s fun and educational.  And it will be an education – for all of us involved.  We’re all up for the fun and challenges, and we’re just waiting to see “what crops up”!

We’d welcome your comments and suggestions for this “pilot agri-quilt” garden.  Leave your comment below.

- Sonya Nash, Class of ’08 and Quilt Gardens Tour℠ Project Manager

Theme: “If Quilts Could Talk”
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
4100 Parnell Ave. Fort Wayne, IN
March 21, 2009

Email: gathering@sistersofthecloth.org
Web: Sistersofthecloth.org

Featuring: Kaye England, Guest Speaker
This Show will have several special exhibits including:
- “Men of The Cloth” quilts made by men from this area
- Four Bed Turning stations – Guilds telling the history/story of Quilts their way
- Lisa Olinger – Guest Longarm Quilter
- Viewers Choice Awards – your opportunity to enter & vote for your favorite Quilts from the display of over 250 quilts.

There will be a vendor mall for your shopping convenience and a secured “quilt check area” for your Show & Tell items.

Other highlights of the Gathering include the Show Pins available to commemorate your visit, Ugly Fabric Contest, Block Swap, Charm Squares exchanges, Viewer’s Choice Award, door prizes & treasure bags. You will also have the opportunity to fellowship with quilters from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.

Visit Sistersofthecloth.org for more information

Sonya Miller, official grower/2009 QGT annuals is sipping cinnamon tea & sorting the 80,000 seeds to be planted this year! We’re gearing up for this year’s Quilt Garden Tour! There are tons of fun events and activities planned.

You won’t want to miss the Plein-Air Paint Out, August 8 – 9. At this event artists from all over Indiana and surrounding states will set up their easels and capture the beauty of Amish Country’s Quilt Gardens on canvas and paper at this first-ever outdoor event. Completed works in oil, pastels and watercolor will be on display and available for purchase at Goshen’s Old Bag Factory after the event!