Quilt Garden
The Quilt Garden, located near the Heritage Garden is a unique interpretation of traditional quilt block patterns with plants, representing the close ties between heritage crafts and gardening and the contemporary art and craft of quilting in the Southern Appalachian region.
Designs in the quilt garden change seasonally ~ each quilt pattern appears in several iterations.
The garden consists of 24 in-ground beds divided by gravel and slate foot path walkways. Visitors enjoy exploring the gardens up close via the path walkways as well as from an observation area that provides a stunning overview of the entire garden.
The Quilt Garden pattern for 2013 is "Spools." Harkening back to the Civil War era when women unraveled cotton and linen to produce lint for packing wounds, the pattern emerged later as a tribute to their assistance in the war effort. The pattern resembles the shape of an empty spool of thread, and is interpreted this spring through plantings of ColossusTM Series Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana 'White' and 'Tricolor'), MatrixTM Series Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Clear Yellow') and DeltaTM Series Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Yellow with Purple Wing').