One starts a garden by first having an idea of what they want. Vegs or flowers (or both) or general landscaping? Then you narrow the general ideas down to a workable beginning, getting specific - if you want vegs, I highly recommend Mel Bartholomew's book "Square Foot Gardening" for basic how-to and general common sense. If you want flowers, then decide which ones appeal to you most, and where you most want to start. Start with a small bed or area because a) gardening is a great deal of physical effort which needs to have set limits or you quit from exhaustion; and b) it usually takes time to build a good soil (which is the most basic requirement); and c) the most attractive flower beds/landscaping use repeating elements and you will need to experiment to find if what you like will grow and look the way you want; and d) -obviously I believe in self-bribery- a small bed will be a fast reward, showing that all the effort you put into it, really is worthwhile. To get started, try a 'search' on this forum, for 'new beds'; and don't forget to take pics of the way it looks *now* - invaluable both for comparison and for making your dreams into workable plans.