actually make my soil even more alkaline and completely ruin my chances for growing vegetables successfully. I specifically needed cow/sheep manure. Use the local knowledge available to you!!! Climate Zone When you are purchasing seeds/seedlings you will also be told what Climate Zones they are appropriate for e.g. temperate, tropical. Also if you are like me and are reading millions of books and choosing your plants then you will need to know this as it will (sadly) eliminate some choices. I know that I can't grow apples because I don't like in an area that gets frost! Boo. Find out your zone here . Step 5 -- Get Planning Our little herb garden! So. Hopefully that gives you a good idea on what you need to consider before you get started. Now it's time for a bit of research so you can get together a plan (which will include a budget) for your yard. An example of the research you can do: when choosing plants you should now have an idea of what you want i.e. I need a tree here for shade, I need a bush here for hedging. Investigate plants that tick all your boxes via your local nurseries and websites. A great tool for people in Perth is the Water Corporations database of WaterWise plants. I couldn't recommend it more -- see here .  Below is a peek at our WaterWise native trees (Golden Peppermints and Kings Park Callistemons). Since planting them I've noticed so many different