FARMINGTON — Terri Neil, 125 Heritage Circle, Farmington, has been gardening – and learning – since she moved to New England in 1994. She had a friend who gave her sage advice and a garden plan, and that was all it took for her to get the bug.

Terri was the alumni and parent relations director at her alma mater before semi-retiring. She now offers professional long-arm quilting services to quilters throughout the region. Her organized quilting methodology translates in many ways to her gardening.

She has been in her current location for the last nine years. She inherited a lot of garden beds, but has played a lot with them, adding 15 structured veggie raised beds, a greenhouse, and a water tower.

Terri says she is always striving for that good ‘ole cottage garden look, but structure dominates. She has never lived in this low of a zone and is finding that challenging. In addition to the cold weather, the deer are a perennial problem. She has never had so much trouble with deer, like many Farmington residents. As one solution, she erected a four-foot cattle panel around her vegetable beds. In addition, temporary plastic posts with unelectrified line skirt her property. It is designed to be unobtrusive and removable after gardening season. “So far, so good,” she says.

The deer have really changed how she gardens. She is trying to do more with native plants, and she is always seeking deer-resistant different plants.

Despite her love of structure, Terri loves to introduce unexpected pieces in her garden. Blue herons are conversation starters. Pots within the gardens spark interest, and veggies planted among the perennials lend a playfulness, especially lettuce and Swiss chard.

In keeping with her interest in surprises, Terri fully utilized the results of the dramatic transformation of her property. When the back end of her property was logged, she made raised beds from the remaining logs. Also, after logging revealed ledge and a low spot, her husband joined the fun and erected a 500-gallon plastic tank and cistern, which helps water the garden when pumped from a series of pipes and pumps from a higher elevation.

Terri says she has “Little gardens spread around here and there. These allow me to can and preserve many things. My 25 tomato plants turn into sauce, and my eggplants morph into so many things.”

While vegetables dominate Terri’s landscape, she loves the lime green gardens speckled with white this time of year. Various grasses, creeping Jenny, and other perennials create a quilt worthy of her artistry.

MBAGC members and the general public are invited to attend this free garden tour.

For more information on this and other events, visit www.mtbluegardenclub.org or email [email protected].