Does anyone have advice on how to plan a back yard into a garden?

[mopinko]

9. you will get advice contrary but

i believe in woodchips as a soil amendment.
especially in planting a tree, adding woodchips is a 3-5 year improvement of your soil. they might suck a little nitrogen to get going, but about half of it rots down in the first year, and the rest is little sponges in your soil or the next few years, at least, depending on the species.

they encourage earthworms and other soil digestors.
and at the very least every new tree should have a few inches for mulch.

keep an eye out for fungi, and be ready. but this is what is working for us.