First time planting anything outside. Where do we start? I already pu

what is you location?What is the lighting and amount of planting area?

You always start with the soil. Get a soil test from your County Agricultural Extension Office. It's less than $10.00 and will give you a breakdown of what your soil is lacking. This way you don't have to spend money on things your soil doesn't need, and your plants will be healthy and grow optimally. The people at the extension office are very helpful.

Find out what growing zone you live in. Certain plants fare better in some than others. Watch the sun. Is your yard partially shade? All day sun? All shade. Certain plants do better in certain areas.

Collect pictures you like and copy them.

Start small and expand. The area next to the front door and the area where your family spends time outside are your first priorities. Then do sections as you can from there out. It's important, though, to have your overall plan first

with a diagram or sheet of plans. Pick trees, flowers and bushes for year round color. Sketch it out. Plant for your zone, do you get deer?, what needs sun and what needs shade?, etc. Biggest mistake is planting too close to the house with shrubs and trees and in 10 years you have problems. Also you want some design to the beds. Curved. Use a garden hose for a curvy layout before breaking ground as a guideline. My favorite perrenial! Knock out roses. No maintenance. Deer not a fan of thorns and they are loaded with color ALL summer long! I like pine trees too. In Michigan winters they are the only green tree and gorgeous in the snow.

I agree with both of the above answers, if you're going to plan a lawn don't make it square, curves are always more interesting, a lovely way to add colour to the lawn is to take small bulbs, grab a handful and throw them onto the grass then plant where they fall, this will give a lovely natural look when they come through small bulbs like crocus and lily of the valley or snowdrops are lovely and will die back as the lawn needs it's first cut, this, of course, will work if they are appropriate in your area, I'm in the UK. They will also multiply each year so you will have a beautiful colourful lawn area every spring. Good luck with your new garden. Oh, by the way, I would do nothing for the first year if it's a well-established garden, wait and see what comes up, you might like it but it will show you what grows there.

Start small. Drive around or walk around your neighborhood to see what other people have. Go to a local garden center and browse around to see what you like. Ask about the plant requirements to see if it meets your needs. Buy it, plant it. Pretty soon you'll be thinking about more & more plants to add to it. Have fun!

Do consider the condition of the soil and ask about fertilizer. For flowers choose a soil that is for them. I have a brown thumb and take every precaution and its still not without issues. A link to get you started. Hope this helps

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Miracle-Gro-Moisture-Control-1-5-cu-ft-Garden-Soil-for-Flowers-70359430/206553427?sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiirMK7noDbAhVsU98KHVehAOMQ9QEIRjAA

NJ. The sun hits directly on my home. The planting area is like the lady side of the picture