Trying to turn my black thumb green-ish

In attempt to keep my black thumb from ruining any curb appeal we may get one day (lawn is still just dirt & debris), I've really been trying to get tips from anyone and everyone about how to garden. I'm very envious of anyone who naturally has a green thumb and

I'm not creating lofty goals of planting and maintaining a garden like these ones,

Frankly, I don't think I'd even want a garden like those ones. They're lovely, but a bit over the top for my tastes.

Even one like this I realize is way outta my league,

And I gotta tell ya---it is HARD to find photos of nice, simple, home gardens as inspiration. I searched my favourite online mags for inspiration, Google Images using several terms, some of my favourite blogs and even searching through some gardening blops I found just for this reason.

As it turns out, some of my faves come from 2 of my favourite bloggers---maybe not so coincidentally, also 2 of participants in the BH&G makeover contest. Man! It's a small world! Anyways, here are a couple that I like overall:

Young House Love:

Making it Lovely:

And a few other seemingly simple ones I may have a hope of achieving over the years:

Anyways, enough about inspiration. If I don't learn what the hey I'm doing, it doesn't matter what my inspiration is, right? So to Style at Home I went to look for some gardening tips. Here are some good ones I found:

Gardening 101
Gardening FAQ's
The Lazy Gardener
Top 10 Garden Tools
15 Garden Tricks
A Simple Guide to Container Gardening

And finally, a list of my fave flowers that I hope hope hope I'll be able to grow someday.

• Lily of the Valley (going to get a whack of bulbs from mom)
• Hyacinth
• Hydrangea
• Lilacs

What's your garden inspiration? Or Goals? Any fave flowers or tips for a novice gardener?