being able to look back at the site over different points of time. I looked back over the seasons and good see that a garden bed of ours that gets lots of sun in summer gets absolutely zilch in winter. This greatly affected what plants we choose for this location. Which areas get morning sun and which bear the brunt of the afternoon sun? In Perth (where the summers are hot ) veggie patches loooove morning sun and hate the afternoon. Soil Type There are three main soil types -- clay, loam and sand. We all want Loam Soil to pick us to be on their team but this is rare. Here is a good guide from my mate Don Burke on testing your soil type. Once you know your soil you will know exactly what you need to do to 'work it up' -- i.e. make it nice and hospitable for the plants you want. A lot of people fall for the 'easy' option of just buying soil for their yard. It was the number one suggestion I was given by family, friends and (unsurprisingly) landscape supply companies.  It is important to note is that  getting nice soil in Australia is extremely hard -- even those that claim "organic premium soil". Most soils sold are alluvial silts which have been mined from riverbeds. Not only is this damaging to the river systems but the materials don't work well. Don Burke says (in his awesome book Organic: Don Burke's Guide