[SparX]

I think one of the biggest pitfalls I come to with gardening is with trying to find flowers I like that won't accidentally kill my animals if they eat them (certain lilies and things like poinsettas)

Starting from scratch is super rewarding. You can be sure of what you want to do with the place to make it your own comfortable home. I have a privacy tree fence in my front yard and it's great, I never have to worry about people driving by looking into my yard.

If you don't have a ton of space for a vegetable garden, there is the thing of gutter gardening that has come around. You can plant in some gutters you put up on a fence, and don't have to worry (so much) about pests getting to them and taking up yardspace.