Just a few words about preparing your soil for planting. Ideally, you have rich, loamy soil that will grow anything, but that's usually not the case. I've always had poor soil where I've lived and had to learn how to improve it so plants would do well.
The best way to improve your soil is with home made compost. I have a whole section on composting on my website "bestgardenresource.com". Of course, you can purchase good quality compost at your garden center, or if you need a lot there are landscape supply places that will deliver a truckload of improved topsoil to your site. I like to work this soil into the existing soil and in the case of a vegetable garden, adding a couple of bags of steer manure or chicken manure is really beneficial. You can also just add the manure to the plant hole and water it in before planting. Be sure to use plenty of water, as fresh manure can burn a tender plant. The best way to prevent this is to do all the soil prep in advance and wait a week or so to plant.
There are also commercial fertilizers that work well. I've used osmocote quite a bit, as it is slow release and eliminates the need for constant fertilizing over the growth period. I especially like it for my container gardening. Very convenient and easy to use.

Shady gardens are very pleasant and easy to design. If you have a shady patio or shady spot in your yard you can create a shady garden. Your local garden center will usually have a good selection of appropriate plants that you can use.
Ferns, hostas, many ground covers, and perennials will work for you. You could also fill in with some annuals (pansies in the winter and impatiens in the summer).
Adding some accents, such as statuary and containers with flowers add dimension and interest.
It is now officially winter and I have put my begonias "to bed". I have them all in hanging pots, so I just take them down at the end of the season and tuck them into an inconspicuous corner to die back. This is when the old growth feeds the tuber for the next year. When all the plant is dried up and falling away, I clean it all up and stack the pots for the winter.
In the spring, I watch the pots for the first sign of little pink nubbins that appear. At this time, I add some new potting soil to the top and some osmocote granuals. Osmocote is a time release fertilizer and is great for this use. One feeding and it usually lasts all summer. If the plants start to wane too soon, say in August, you can use a little Miracle gro on them to give them a boost.
I usually don't hang them back up until they have some foliage showing. Maybe about 4 inches or so. Once they're in growth mode, they need regular watering, as the pots dry out quickly.
Of course, you can always plant them in the ground, if you have a good spot. I just find that when they're done for the year, the foliage is somewhat unsightly in the beds, so I prefer the pots.
For more information and resources, check out my website: http://bestgardenresource.com/