Gwen's quilt story

Here's what I can tell you about my quilt and its background:

I started gardening here in Mentor Headlands about 1965, the spring after we moved in. There were perennial gardens established and we had a few problems with rabbits and woodchucks. A few years later we shared a big garden space across the street and grew much of our summer produce. It had a short fence to keep out the woodchucks and rabbits. Later we increased the fence height because deer were getting into a few crops.

I inherited wonderful daylilies from my mother-in-law that I planted in a very large bed across the front of our property. They were wonderful. We had roses, tulips, hostas daisies and many other deer treats. As the deer herd increased in size our gardens became their nighttime dinners. (They move from the protected Mentor Marsh to the lake for drinks and we are are the dinner spot along the way! ) We put in plastic deer fences: first about 5 feet, then 7-8 feet. These seemed to be working well, but they always found a weak spot or a way in. We discovered that they were pushing under the fences to get at the most tasty things I loved. We are now using ground stakes every few feet. I still spray with deer spray regularly and try not to plant things they love. But I can't give up everything, and they still have roses and hostas that by July are devoured. I keep hoping next year will be better!

The quilt was an idea that I had for a long time. I actually bought the deer fabric a few years ago. When Lori demonstrated the 6 minute circle I thought that was a perfect way to show garden plots. I found an old Thimbleberries fabric that I used for the fence and added the deer border on two sides. I decided that the deer would speak using the green lowercase words. My feelings are written in brown in the fence. Around each plant section are varieties of that plant that I either like or have grown.

Gwen Meissner 2012