Is there a local Gardening Club or Allotment Society? Take yourself along there and chat to them. You will get a lot of practical and local advice from members.

If you can't find a garden club or allotment society or don't have time to attend, do some reading first - have a look at D. G. Hessayon's 'Expert' series of books - gives you all the basic information you might need and they're priced around £8.00 each. Has one on veg growing, flowers, shrubs, flowering shrubs, lawns, rock plants, bedding plants - I'm sure there's an exhaustive list on line. Then, as your baby gets a bit older, you might actually have five or ten minutes here or there (I remember what its like with a small baby) to make a start outside, but you'll already have some info and guidance under your belt.

Just thought I would say, welcome to GoY.

Thanks everyone- how do i find out about a garden club? i live in milton keynes. Do i have to pay for these ( not that i mind). Please let me know.

You can often find such local information by a wed search, eg 'garden clubs milton keynes', or via the local council, usually library services.

What do you have already? Is it a new build, as they usually have ready turfed gardens these days. If you do have all grass just keep it mowed for starters while you have a look at gardens in the area to get some idea of the sort of thing that appeals to you. Then you can cut new beds in it when you have time and develop it gradually.
You may need to keep some lawn for the baby to play ion later? You might start with a narrow border in the front and just buy container annuals to give you some colour through the summer while you think and plan.
If its an older house with plants already just keep the grass cut and take out anything you recognise as a weed from any beds there are and wait to see what comes up before you start.
When you have some ideas you can put some photos of the site on here and people will share their ideas with you.

Thanks guys! @ Steragram: Hi , its a new build. So it already has a garden in. So if i were to dig a patch - would it be just pulling out the grass with a spade kind of thing? or will this destroy the rest of the lawn. I just want a small patch for the flowers. I also have the front to cover. At the moment they have put some weird plants which seems to make the front look horrible. I want to get rid of most of it and was planning on a Hydrangia. What is your view on this? Other's comments also welcome :)

Hi, & welcome. Can you put some photos on so we can see what it's like at the moment?

As Feverfew says, photos would be good, but for lifting turf, the easiest way is to get yourself a half moon lawn edger - cut through the turf where you want the bed to be, then cut the turf you don't want (which will be the new bed) into manageable squares, work the edger beneath each square and lift off. You need to remove the grass to a depth of about 1 to 1.5 inches, so what you take off should look like small turves, then dig over the area before planting, preferably including some composted manure or soil conditioning compost from the garden centre (not potting compost).

If you are thinking abut a hydrangea you really need to do a soil test to find out if your soil is acid - the acidity (or not) of the soil can affect the colour of the flowers. You can buy a simple little kit to test it - its very easy and not expensive.

Digging out a flower bed from your lawn won't affect the rest of it so don't worry. Please do put some photos on, especially of the plants in the front garden that you don't like - they may turn out to have some good points later in the year so its good to identify them before getting rid.

Its best not to make your flower bed too narrow - you need room to be able to dig it properly. Again a photo of the plot would help us to suggest a good position for it.
And it makes a difference whether the garden is sunny or has parts in shade most of the day.

hi thanks for all your replies. I will get back to u with photos so u can have a clear idea. Does anyone know a good online nursery which sells plants at reasonable prices and quick delivery. A friend of mine buys from amazon (west country nurseries) and said its very reliable. What is your view?

Hydrangia-Steragram- where can i buy these kits? b&Q?

Hi All, i have added some pics of my garden- front and back. Please take a look

Hi Debbie, firstly welcome. Some really great advice already given. My advice would be don't rush it. My wife Wendy and I moved into a new build in Aug 1995. There was so much to do in the house, we didn't do the garden until spring 1996. Maybe do a few sketches, decide what you want from your garden, features, patio, trees, shrubs, flowers, sandpit, veg's, paths, shed etc., etc., Take a look at all the ideas on GoY website and make some notes of the names and photo numbers so that you can get back to them for reference. If you pick all the best ideas from everything on GoYpedia you'll end up with a lovely garden. Good luck and enjoy.

Thanks Alan...will start with your advice and take a look at all the pics :) its almost going to be a year actually...time sure flies!