I need you Martha Stewart

The hubby and are looking forward to enjoying our first Spring together as a married couple. Wahoo!!
We plan to dive head first into the land (no pun intended) of landscaping and gardening! For Jameson, much of this will be old hat; growing up on a farm, he's well-schooled in the ins and outs of vegetable gardening. Me?? Not so much. He's also helped with much of the beautiful landscaping that his Mother orchestrates every year. Me?? I'm clueless.
But now that I'm married, I feel it is a rite of passage for me to have homegrown vegetables and an aesthetically pleasing flower garden. However, the trick is learning how to accomplish this seemingly lofty goal.
Jameson has agreed to counsel me on growing a vegetable garden, and I plan to follow his every instruction and soak up as much knowledge as possible.  But we are both a little green (pun intended) in the landscaping department. In years past he has helped his Mom with the manual labor aspect of landscaping, i.e. "dig a hole here, or put some mulch there", but hasn't been involved with any schematics. So needless to say, despite our combined desire to have a beautiful exterior, we are a little lost as to where to start.

Our little front porch

We aren't looking for a re-make of Cheekwood gardens, just a low-key, eye-catching selection to brighten up our entry way. This area will receive morning sun, and a mix of sun and shade for the remainder of the day. I'm hoping to find some flowering perennials that will have color for most of the season (if that even exists). We don't mind high-maintenance plants because we are prepared (and excited) to devote time to love and nurture our little garden.
So, I'm turning to the blogging world for comments, ideas, etc. I've poured through gardening books and did some online research, but I want first-hand stories. What has worked for you? What are your tried and true favorites that you rely on every year? What hasn't worked? What should a novice gardener stay clear of?? Do you have Martha Stewart's number, and do you know if she does house-calls?
Pretty much....we'll take any help and suggestions!


p/s....these photos were taken with my point-and-shoot....we are still working on our technical difficulties. :)