Conventional gallery walls will be exchanged for nature’s canvas this Saturday as Merritt hosts Art in the Garden, a tour featuring artists, gardeners and musicians around the city.

Following a map that can be picked up at the Baillie House, visitors and residents of the Nicola Valley will be able to tour ten gardens each exhibiting works of art ranging from paintings to quilts.

Suzy Ireland, who will be displaying traditional hand made and machine made quilts on Merritt Avenue said the quilts will be second to the display of flowers and greenery.

“On their own, these yards are beautiful park-like areas,” she said. “Some of the women grow herbs so the yards will have a lovely fragrance as well.”

Sandy Curnow, Baillie House manager, said the gardens will be as varied as the artwork.

“We have everything from lush English cottage gardens like at the Baillie House to Xeriscape yards, to vegetable gardens.”

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. maps will be available at the Baillie House listing the nine other gardens displaying art. Locations span the city from the Bench, to just up Coldwater Road, but most are centralized near the downtown area so people may opt to walk.

“We’ve numbered all the gardens geographically, but it will be good if people don’t all go in the same direction,” said Curnow, adding that the tour could take five hours to complete if people spend about half an hour per garden and take a break for lunch.

Because of an ad placed in a quilting magazine, at least one tour bus full of 47 quilters will be making their way to Merritt from Kamloops to attend the event, though Curnow said she has had calls from people in Vancouver as well.

Despite a late summer, the roses and irises are in bloom and Curnow said visitors are in for a treat. Besides the artwork and quilts, several gardens will host musicians including a banjo player on Merritt Avenue at noon.

In addition to displaying her own quilts, Ireland has Merritt’s anniversary in mind.

“Because this is Merritt’s 100th birthday, there will be quilts that are 100 years old,” Ireland said. “One has come from the Yukon and the other two are from the state of Michigan.”

Last year was the first time Merritt hosted an Art in the Garden tour inspired by a similar event held in Vancouver. Curnow said that whether or not people choose to participate in the tour, the public is welcome to visit the Baillie House where refreshments will be served by donation.