I can't bring back a desert but I can grow a backyard garden myself.

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I have half a mind to prepare a certain area of our back yard for future use as a garden for next spring. If I go at it right, I might be more able to give it a start with some degree of success. I have to first think, 'Do I want a flower garden, a vegetable or fruit garden or do I want to plant shrubs or a small fruit tree?' I have to go with what is most practical and the first step in this is to make use of: 1. fallen leaves that make good mulch material. 2. fallen branches that can be ground into and add to the mulch 3. add extra bio-degradable elements to the mulch or compost such as: a. left over table scraps that include bread, fruit, vegetables that can help add nutrients to the compost. b. extra top soil or high quality potting medium from the garden center to add to the mix Living in Dallas, I have to consider long periods of dry weather and / or long periods of heavy rainfall along with spikes in temperature above 100 degrees in summer and high winds throughout every season and the general insect population that would include: a. water bugs b. ants c. moths d. wasps e. spiders f. roaches g. any number of creepy things that crawl in the dirt. Then there are the local birds that come around in spring and summertime. a. Grackles b. Sparrows c. Mockingbirds d. Redbirds e. Pigeons f. Blue Jays e. and many migrating birds that do a one time stop over looking for food and water and who are just passing through. There are other things to consider: I have already one Fig tree that grows close to the back alley fence. This is not a good location for that tree. It is in a location that allows passers by to grab the ones that are ripe and run. I will consider planting a Fig tree in a central location which I can maintain better as not to have a fence too close to one side making management of the plant more difficult than having a full circle around it accessible for me to keep it up better. I may consider planting more tomatoes but then I have never grown anything but tomatoes and cucumbers this past summer, the year of 2016. I would like to plant some onions. I like onions a lot so I will have to find out what type of onion grows best in Dallas, Texas, not what grows best either in Wisconsin or in a green house. If I can do some things around the back yard that will allow good vegetables and fruit and flowers and other plants to grow fully and healthy I will be busy as a bee so to speak this spring.