Photo courtesy of Denise Weedman Organizers helping to plan the Tracy Area Gardens and Quilts Tour work to pair just the right quilt displays with the gardens on the tour. During one planning session, they held up a quilt from Cindy Sabinske, next to planters of petunias outside Ina and Harvey Rykhus’s I&H Greenhouse.

TRACY — Area gardens and special quilts will both be in the spotlight next week in Tracy.

Organizers of the Tracy Area Gardens and Quilts Tour are looking forward to welcoming visitors to some new featured gardens this year.

Wednesday’s tour will also include a special guest. Barn quilt artist Cynthia Buchholz of the Bittersweet Barn Quilt Company will be at The Caboose in Tracy with displays of her work.

“We’re excited about her coming,” said Elise Lanoue, part of the group organizing the event. “Barn quilts have become more of a thing as you’re driving through the countryside.”

The Gardens and Quilts Tour, sponsored by St. Mary’s CCW, will be held from 2-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The event includes a total of five garden sites, featuring quilt displays. Visitors can also enjoy pie and ice cream served at The Caboose.

Lanoue said all but one of the tour stops are within the city of Tracy this year.

“It will make a difference for the guests,” she said. People taking the tour won’t need to travel as far between stops.

Tour sites include the gardens of Tracy residents Betsy and Seth Schmidt and Beth and Brian Lanoue, as well as the Cinnamon Hen antique and home décor business, and I&H Greenhouse. The tour site outside Tracy is BIG Roots Family Farm, which grows more than 2,000 square feet of cut flowers each summer.

During the tour, visitors will also see quilts from the Blomme family, Cindy Sabinske, Sharon Lenertz, the Heiderschiedt family, Connie Anderson, Rose Kramer, Angie Orren, and more.

Buchholz said she was looking forward to being part of the Gardens and Quilts Tour.

“I thought it would be fun because I love quilts, and I love gardens,” she said.

Buchholz, a Hutchinson resident, paints barn quilts and offers classes teaching people how to create their own. Barn quilts are an art form that takes inspiration from the geometric patterns sewn on quilt blocks. The finished paintings can be used to decorate a barn or other building.

“I had taken a class, and I just really loved making them,” Buchholz said.

She ended up going from painting her own barn quilts, to also doing commissioned pieces and teaching classes.

“I love so much about it,” she said. She especially enjoys seeing students’ reactions after they finish a barn quilt. “When they leave, they’re so happy.”

One collaborative project that Buchholz has worked on was the creation of barn quilt murals at the McLeod County fairgrounds. Over four days, adults and kids helped paint the murals, which included barn quilt patterns Buchholz created.

Ticket sales for the Gardens and Quilts Tour begin at 2 p.m. at The Caboose, located on U.S. Highway 14 in Tracy, as well as at each garden site. Tickets are $20. A rain date for the tour will be July 10.