Starting is the most difficult step.
That sentence can be applied to many situations, so no wonder it also works for gardening. My method of starting something I may have never done or see a challenge in, is to just tackle it. And you should do so, too! Here is a step-by-step guide on how to start a green-space.
1) Be aware of your surroundings
First things first: You don't need to have a garden to plant vegetables or flowers. A balcony, a terrace and even a sunny window sill work, too! Look around for potential spaces that you can work with. For instance, you could use your kitchen window for herbs which you need for cooking. Another window sill might be for starting seedlings. On your balcony you could then plant strawberries and cucumbers. This is just one idea of a simple, but functional garden. You get the idea.
2) Make a plan
What was described in the paragraph above, was already a plan. Not the most complex one, but it works. And that is what you should make, too. A plan. Especially if you don't have a lot of space, it is useful to decide what you want to put where. What I like to do is to draw what my future garden will look like. Take a look at this photo:
Thick black outlines are the garden's physical boundaries. Thin black lines represent individual beds. All plants are green.
3) Don't go overboard - right?
Once you have everything somewhat mapped-out, the question is, which plants you would like to cultivate. I often hear that you should not get carried away with lots of plants when it's your first time gardening. Though I can see the logic in that (to keep an overview and gain experience slowly), I prefer to plant a variety of vegetable and fruit. That way I can gather experience with lots of plants, see what works and what doesn't and also taste a large selection of home-grown food. While it's your decision which path you are going to take, I encourage you to gauge what works best for you.
4) Selecting your plants
It's time to select your plants. For that, I have created another post, all about which plants work together. Lettuce go there! >