The 2025 Heritage Trail Quilt Gardens

"Creativity and Structure" in Goshen on Main Street

"The Sunburst" Abshire Park, Goshen

It's that time of year again, when Elkhart County plants its beautiful Heritage Trail quilt gardens all over the county. They start planting in May, opening May 30th, and the season runs through September 15th. This year there are 16 quilt gardens and 12 quilt murals. Each year that we have lived here, Sparky and her chauffeur (Eldo) make the rounds all around the county, following the handy dandy map that is provided online, which she prints out. See the map here: quilt gardens map  You can actuallly make it a fairly economical trip gas-wise, if you plan carefully!

One of Sparky's perennial favorites (haha, did you see what she did there?) is the garden at Das Essenhaus in Middlebury....This one is called "Burst of Joy"....If you drive to it in the middle of the day, or late in the day, you can stop by for a traditional Amish style home cooked meal. They have a fabulous bakery on premises as well.

Each quilt garden has a signpost telling what flowers are used and a vivid description of why the particular flowers were chosen. Unfortunately, Sparky cut off the vivid description on all the signs, focusing on what kind of flowers were used!

One of the most challenging gardens to view is the "Just Wingin' It" garden at the Elkhart Environmental Center. It's four birds and difficult to see the lines of distinction, like the birds' beaks for instance. But still, an amazing floral feat!

There are over a million blooms total in the gardens and gigantic quilt murals to see as well....

Bonneyville Mill Park mural

At Bonneyville Mill County Park, not only can you see one of the quilt murals on the big red barn, but you can see a beautiful dahlia garden just beginning to bloom in July....The garden was just beginning to show its colors when we visited.

Dahlia at Bonneyville Mill Park

Speaking of dahlias, this quilt garden at the Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart must have been planted a bit later than many, so it is just getting started. 

"Giant Dahlia"

Here are few more of Sparky's favorites--a trip to Shipshewanna to see this one at the Farmstead Inn, called "Goosetracks". 

"Goosetracks"

"Flying Swallows" at Ruthmere Mansion in Downtown Elkhart...

Can you see the "Sweetgum Leaf"  tree in downtown Bristol, IN?

It is really fun to take a road trip that lasts less than a day if you are in the area and want to see quite a few gardens in a short time span. 

And there are more gardens to be seen, these are just a few of Sparky's favorites. We highly recommend taking this road trip if you are in Elkhart County during the summer months. It's a wonderful trip down nostalgia lane to see the Amish farms, towns and small town living in northwest Indiana. There are great places to stop and shop and eat in each of the towns along the route--Elkhart, Middlebury, Goshen, Shipshewanna, Bristol, Wakarusa, and Nappanee. Hope you enjoyed today's quilt garden tour!