~Grandmother Never Bought a Plant~
I suppose that is not literally true since in the beginning she bought vegetables and fruits for eating and then used their seeds to start plants.
Grandmother's garden was filled with many plants--I wish I could remember all of them--including Sweet Gum, Peach, Fig, Weeping Willow, and Magnolia trees; white and blue Hydrangeas, Azaleas, various Roses, Bleeding Hearts, Ferns, Periwinkle; Weigelia, Privet, and Barberry shrubs; succulents, and a vegetable garden.
Grandmother's garden was developed from "found" items, so to speak. My grandmother knew that plants could be started from the seeds they produced (no sterile hybrids for her). She also exchanged plants and cuttings with her neighbors. If she liked a plant, she made as many as she wanted from cuttings or seeds. Her neighborhood was filled with open fields (nowadays, almost gone for the rest of us), and these areas were great places to find plants.
Obviously, one of the things my grandmother brought to this garden and learned from it--was patience. In this era of instant gratification, we forget that good things are worth the wait, that patience really is a virtue, and that there is nothing wrong with frugality, either!
~Biographies~
*My grandmother started me down the garden path and Gertrude and Jim push me along. I do know that while all my mentors are deceased, I hear their voices loud and clear -- know the environment in which you want to garden, gardening is hard work, gardens take time to develop, start plants from cuttings, and that nature is not always on our side. In other words, be realistic, be frugal, and have patience.
*Gertrude Jekyll (1843 - 1932; photogragh from her book: Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden) has had the most pronounced influence on English and American gardening. She studied the landscape and designed flower borders, woodlands, and specimen tree and shrubery placement with regard to color, vista, soil, and year-round pleasure. Gertrude Jekyll approached the garden as a canvas. It has been said that Monet planted his gardens to paint them while Gertrude Jekyll's garden was the painting.
*James Underwood Crockett (1915 - 1979; photograph from his book: Crockett's Victory Garden) was the original host of PBS's The Victory Garden, then called Crockett's Victory Garden. I was fortunate to see his weekly shows. He showed that while gardening was work, it was also enjoyable with great rewards. While reading gardening books is informative, it was great to see and hear a gardener in action and see the results. It was good for morale! Jim made a statement on a show about asters that has become famous in my family because not only does it apply to gardening -- it applies to many things in life: Life is too short to stake asters.
*Painting of a child who reminds me of myself and grandmother in her garden: Monet - The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil.
~Gardening in Connecticut~
The Ice Age was not a good thing for gardeners in this area. On its march to Long Island and the sea, the glacier removed the soil down the bedrock and then when it melted, it dropped terminal moraine (rocks) in its wake -- except for southern Long Island where it was nice enough to deposit a glacial outwash plain (sand).
My family gardened on Long Island. When I moved to Connecticut and wanted to garden, I bought a shovel. What did I know? Quickly after that, my husband bought a pick axe.
Gardening here means "digging" out rocks and then going off to buy a truckload of topsoil--and while you are at it: sharp (not play or all-purpose) sand, and a ton of peat moss--to fill in the holes so that your plants may live long and prosper.
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Shrub border to block view
I was at a loss what to do to block the view into my neighbor's woods from my summer perennial border. There is a rock wall but it is low and rather rough and tumble. 
I got some good ideas from a "gardening coach". Her name is Debbie Roberts and I found her through the Garden Designers' Roundtable web site. She lives in my area so she is very knowledgeable with the problems and good points of this spot and knowledgeable of gardening in general.The space between the back of the border is only about 12 feet from the property line at its closest point. I need room to work the border from the back as well as the front. I thought of a fence, but while I wanted to block the view and add some privacy, I still wanted something casual but nice looking. I have nothing against fences--in fact, I think they are a great idea, just not necessarily for this spot. Plus I like the idea of breezes being able to flow through, especially in our hot and humid summers.She offered ideas for shrubs to use and how to position them--a staggered planting of shrubs ("WW") along the rock wall with a narrow walkway between the back of the summer border and the inner row of shrubs. Also, I was not sure how to tie the two sides of the grass oval together since one side has the summer perennial border and the other side, the all-season shrub border. She also offered some design ideas. It seems pretty simple--copy colors from the perennial border to the shrub border in a number of places. Of course, now I just have to implement it! I have allowed next year (2011) to complete the summer border and the following year (2012) to complete the complimenting shrub border, so I should have enough time to get it right! (Famous last words.)
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and your garden the other day. I'm pleased to know you found our consultation helpful & worthwhile. Thanks for the kind words, I'll be looking forward to following along with your border as it porgesses.
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