An Old Fashioned Rock Garden

When my mother was a little girl, she lived just outside of Rochester, NY in the town of Brighton. Her maternal grandparents, Charles and Carrie Hooper lived on the other side of Rochester on Chili Avenue. Mom's grandpa made beautiful rock gardens where ever he lived. He built walkways, fireplaces, and pagotas. There were bridges and birdbaths and he even had a greenhouse
I'm told that when he sold one house and bought another, he would make another rock garden in the new location. The gardens were quite elaborate and difficult for the new owners to keep up with but Grandpa never seemed to have a problem. Maybe he was retired and spent all his time out there weeding, watering, and working, I don't know... Whatever it was, his were some of the most beautiful gardens in the city of Rochester back in the 1930's and 40's. They even made it into the newspaper a time or two. Sometimes I wonder what happened to my great grandfather's green thumb and then I remember that on occasion I see my own children trying it on. Beth was sporting a rather lovely shade of jade as she worked my flower gardens several years ago. She even grew her own vegetable garden when she was about 16. Dave is often showing off his green thumb as he does his groundscaping job here and there. He loves to take a neglected area and fill it with flowers, ornamental plants and groundcover. I've also seen Ben show an interest in plants and growing things.
As a child I had a strange fascination with cemeteries. They were full of pretty rocks and trees and flowers. Looked like a rock garden to me. Maybe grandpa's green thumb isn't gone afterall!