Hi, Dmitry...

Welcome to the Insane World of Gardening.

If you're completely new to gardening, I would recommend going to neighbors, local garden clubs, your extension office, etc. to find out what the best choices would be for your area.

Decide what you want to grow...annuals, veggies, flowering shrubs/trees, some of everything...(which is one of my many problems).
Ask your county extension office for a soil test or what soil recommendations they have.

In your local box store and some catalogs, they may say a particular item may grow well in your zone; but, after tons of work, time and money, you may find it doesn't.

I have found it best to go directly to the horse's mouth; in particular, neighbors and garden clubs.
Gardeners are always more than happy to share seeds, cuttings, volunteers, etc.

That's the way most of us got a large percent of what works in our gardens. With time and knowing what works well for your specific area, to me, is the time to go purchase specific varieties, colors, etc. from seed catalogs or a local nursery with a good reputation.

Good Luck.

another thing you might do is ask your question over at the New To Gardening forum. I don't think you'll find any two people who buy plants and seeds exactly the same way. I order all my seeds online because you can find more varieties that way. I get plants both from the catalogs and in farmer's markets and garden shops,rarely at Lowes,Walmart etc. although I have some great shrubs I've purchased at Home Depot. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of gardening. You'll mess up a lot,we all do,and you'll have wonderful successes...all worth the effort.

Here is a link that might be useful: New To Gardening Forum

Dmitry, I'd also suggest checking out the Forums here at GW for your state or region. Also the particular forums like Roses, Shrubs, or whatever is of interest Just reading all the posts will give you good info and asking questions there will get you answers re what does best in your area. And advice re nurseries if you post your state or general area. Neighbors are great but here I'd be hard pressed to find a real gardener...lol Driving thru neighborhoods though will give you ideas for trees and shrubs and how they prosper.

I've always mail-ordered seeds because there's a far greater selection than locally. Plants are generally fine bought locally and you can save shipping costs, see exactly what you're getting, and usually get larger plants. But if you want specific cultivars and/or out-of-the-ordinary plants you'll probably have to mailorder. Be sure to check out any nursery at http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/ to be sure reputable.

Good luck. josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Watchdog

read read read read ..and read more..
your first garden should grow only foods you are sure you will eat...and never more than you'll need for the first year...so you'll have lots of time to tend the most important plants, the ones you'll use.
first most important thing is to find your growing zone, mine is 4 but i can grow a few 5 things..this is determined by frost and heat and water..
then determine your soil and water usage. If you are in a low water usage area there will be things you can't grow unless you mulch heavily and water ..some things are mostly water, like cucumbers and watermelon.
There are a lot of plants i can't grow unless i use the greenhouse cause i only have a 90 day growing season..some plants take a LOT longer than 90 days from planting to harvest..like sweet potatoes and most melons..some need long hot days, some need short cold days..
there is a lot of study that needs to be done and NOW is the time to do it before you fall in..the easiest things to start with are a few tomato plants and pepper plants, and a packet of bean and pea seeds, and some onion sets and cut the EYES out of a few of your raw potatoes and plant those..you'll have a good start to see what happens, and then move on to more and larger.
a great book is The Kitchen Garden by Sylvia Thompson, tells you what you can eat that you might already have growing in your yard and flower gardens...as well as basic cooking in the companion The Kitchen Garden cookbook.

there are a lot of other great books out there too, Rodale gardens has some good ones under the titles "organic Gardening"..

my best advice is to buy a few plants and a few packets of seeds your first year and then plan and read for next year..make sure you FEED the soil, not the plant, with good compost, rotted manure, and organic mulches