My fiance and I recently moved into our first home. Our grass has finally begun to come up and we were wondering about some ideas on what to plant. We both have full time jobs and not alot of time to work in the garden. Any suggestions? (I really like my yard to be colorful). And if you do have suggestions, could you please give me a step-by-step run-down of how to plant and take care of them?

I have read many articles that suggest using old tires for container gardening. My father is considering making a vegetable garden out of tires. Does the tire pollute the soil and there fore the vegetables? I it is bad to burn tires.. Should I be concerned about the quality of the vegetables? Have you seen any scientific evidence about this topic? Or environmental tests?

I saw something about it on tv the other day and have read a little about it before. Does anyone have any experience, does it make a difference or is it coincidence? From my own experience, I find most things are reluctant to grow after June, when the days start getting shorter. I've never tried gardening by moon phases, I tend to go by the phases of the sun rather than the moon, but thought of trying it out this year just for fun.

Every time I buy a houseplant or look something up that's related to any kind of gardening I get completely lost in all the terminology, latin names, etc. I'd like to get better at gardening and growing things without having to get my degree in horticulture. Are there any sources (websites/books) for beginners who don't understand all the "big words" ?