I believe the gardener you are thinking of with the red beds and the pics of her daughters in the wheelbarrow, is 'gottagarden' from the cottage garden forum. I will try and post the link to her garden album.

Here is a link that might be useful: garden album

Generally a border or bed that is fairly narrow should not include extremely tall plants or the proportions don't look right. You should probably stick to plants 4 ft. or shorter with the taller plants at the back of the wider parts of the border. Single plants (unless something like peonies) can look a bit patchy, so small groups of three or five are usually recommended. It is a personal preference, so I don't usually follow this myself. I like to grow lots of different plants and just can't afford (space wise) to grow 3-5 of each. Again, it depends on whether you desire a cottage garden or more formal look. I garden in a cottage or wild style so may have multiples of one plant, just not all growing together in a grouping.

Thank-you greylady-gardener and ontnative!

I found the pictures on "gottagarden"'s page, they are beautiful, she is so talented.

I noted your advice, and I'm first trying to add lots of tri-mix to the soil and deciding where to place the plants I have. I'm getting anxious that I won't get it done before it gets too cold for them to take.

A big problem I'm having is dealing with an awful lot of wasps, it's quite hazardous venturing out into my backyard. I've been stung once and I don't want it to happen again if I can help it! I've put out several OFF yellow jacket traps, and they trap a LOT of wasps, but more keep coming. I should have got them out in the early spring but unfortunately circumstances prevented that this year.
Maybe I should start another thread on this problem.
I'm wondering if anyone has got any tips on dealing with them. I would so appreciate it!

Apologies for another long-winded post!