A Living Quilt

During my two-plus week stay in Northern Indiana, I have seen a number of the quilt garden designs. Several today. They are beautiful!! (Look carefully and you can see the KIA and Little Guy in the parking lot beyond the trees.)

Copied from Amish Country Northern Indiana, 2009 Travel Guide & Maps, pp. 10-11.

A Living Quilt

Inspired by quilt designs, powered by imagination!

Nothing says Amish Country like an exquisitely handcrafted quilt--except, perhaps, a bountiful garden. We've combined both to create a tour of sixteen dazzling and colorful quilt gardens of tens of thousands of annuals planted by dozens of master gardeners, landscapers and volunteers. The county-wide tour celebrates the artistry and heritage of the many Amish who call Northern Indiana home.

In precise detail, each garden recreates a traditional or contemporary quilt pattern, ranging from the distinctive Whirling Star to the nostalgic Grandmother's Fan and the elaborate Stone Mason's Puzzle. All are masterpieces of gardening. In all, more than 80,000 marigolds, begonias, red salvia and a vast palate of other annuals combine to recreate the quilts on a truly inspirational scale that burst with color. Our largest quilt garden spans 2,400-square feet, and most average 20X40 feet. Our quilt gardens grace seven communities, and you'll find them in parks, at public buildings, businesses and many of the region's most popular attractions.

Unlike their stitched cousins, our quilt gardens are never finished. And that makes for pleasant return visits throughout the growing season to Amish Country's sixteen quilt-inspired gardens. As spring gives way to summer and then autumn, you can watch as the thousands of annuals that make up the quilts' patches take turns blooming, creating an ever evolving panorama of color and scent.