Sentence:  My great grandmother , I have been <WSD>told</WSD> , made her garden her great pride ; she cherished rare and delicate plants like oleanders in tubs and wall-flowers and lemon verbenas in pots that had to be wintered in the cellar ; she filled the waste spots of the yard with common things like the garden heliotrope in a corner by the woodshed , and the plantain lilies along the west side of the house . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  let something be known