I need help please newbee at gardening

Hello Im VERY VERY new to all this gardening stuff
I need help please!
I am very eager to work on my garden but before i go any further I thought I should get some advice from other gardeners.
Im looking to have a rock garden with EE's and caladium with a fountain on one side of the garden ( the left side is 14x4 & the right side is 15x9ft) is it possible to have these plants in a garden of this size with rock?
should i lay mulch down before I put the rock down (a sales person said to do this but im not sure?)

Should it be a certain type of rock (I was thinking of going to the stream beds to pick and choose what I want ,is this a bad idea)?

I have tilled where I am wanting to put my small little gardens which is on both sides of my front porch the sun shines about half the day (missouri temp's) however there is a lil shade due to the big trees in my yard

I have bought two grapefruit size elephant ears which I would like to plant one on each side of my porch, Im not sure if I need to buy more EE's, also I have bought Caladiums Aaron(7 in the package x 2 pkg) also 2 pkg of the assorted caladium.
It says on the pkg that March is the time to plant these beauties? Is this a good time or should i wait until the end of March?
Maybe it will be warmer.

Should i try to grow them inside my house and then transplant to the outdoors?

Other than tilling the ground is there anything else i should add to the dirt or plants before or after i plant them?

How far apart should I plant each buld?

Would it be a bad idea to add a few other plants in the same garden as these are in?

I love the smell of lavender and baby's breathe how are these plants normally grow? I would like to add them somewhere but not in my green garden

How do i keep them alive and how long is the life of these types of plants, can I dig them up during the fall and winter months to keep them inside and alive?

Well.....I think thats all the questions i have for the evening
I am very new to all this and have not anyone that I can ask for help because no one I know has a garden (of any kind)So any advice will be greatly appreciated
I look forward to reading everyones opinions and advice
Thank you
Have a nice day
Stephanie

Hi Stephanie, welcome to Dave's Garden. One quick first suggestion for people to help you with gardening ideas is to know where you live. There is a place to enter your location (you can be generic for privacy, if necessary and only give state) and definitely your zone.

On the right, there is a heading called: About You, select Preferences, then fill in Location Information.

One thing I can suggest on the Caladiums is wait until it's warm. As I understand, the temperature needs to stay above 60 for these to really take off.

Sounds like you off to a great start. If you have a camera, we'd all love to see pictures of your project!

Sandra

Looks like you are in Missouri Stephanie. Welcome to Dave's Garden, it's a great place to learn about gardening and meeting fellow gardeners.

Here's a picture of mine, at the end of my preformed pond. See, it doesn't take up much space and although mine only has a lot of small plants and ground cover in it, you can see you can make it with anything.

These are flagstones that I pulled off my patio, a few leftover retaining wall blocks and coral rocks piled up on one end (that's the pond end).

When the danger of frost in your area has passed, go ahead and put in your caladiums and EE. Throw a rock or two in there. Get them where ever you can get them, free is always good. I found that when I planted something that was going to take a little time to kick off, I could get some great instant gratification by buying up a bunch of 88 cent blooming annuals to fill the space and time. Put the annuals as a border and/or mingle them between the ee bulbs.

Hope this helps. Good luck

:^) Molly

dear stephanie,
welcome to dave's garden and gardening. i too was a newbie and writing the same kind of posts only 4 years ago. now i guess i'm a oldie/newbie. :-) because i still have a lot of questions.
i would start the ee and caladiums in pots indoors. as the days get warmer you can put them outside and then if there is a frost you can bring them in or cover them. both like warm soil.
as far as fertilizer and your soil, now is a good time to check it. go to walmart or similar store and buy a little soil testing kit. they have individual ones for $2. one thing they didn't say on there directions, was to make sure that the soil is dry, before testing it. (just read that this morning). or you can take a sample and use a local nursery etc. go to the soil or frequently ask questions forum, you will find a lot of folks with a lot of knowledge there to help you out. i'm a definite newbie with soil. :-) i also read this morning that now is the time for us to do it, i'm in massachusetts zone 6a. it takes a few months for all those good nutrients to work into your soil. it is soooooo much easier to amend your soil with no plants in it than to do it later.
i believe you can take both the ee and caladiums indoors over the winter months as house plants or dig them and store the bulbs, to overwinter. both are not meant for our zones and will die if left out.
i would also put in some annuals to brighten the spot, until the e.e.'s and caladiums get larger. my first year planting a caladium it didn't emerge until july.
i would check on your variety of caladiums and see what type of light they like.
http://www.google.com is a great search engine to use to learn about plants. the basic facts and other member contributions can be found in the plant database here at dave's.
good luck and keep us informed about your new gardens.
feel free to ask any questions you need answered.
the only dumb question is one not asked.
debi z and my little 4 footed gardening buddy franklin