Gardens: getting started

We live in a typical Phx neighborhood on 1/3 acre of property. We are blessed with trees and grass and an unusual yard layout. The pics below are of my gardens' humble beginnings in 2012.  The top pic is of the "back garden" which is in the very back (west)  of our backyard. The bottom is the "side garden" and on the north side of our house.  I am relatively new to gardening so these gardens were true experiments for sure. I enjoy every bit of it and don't even mind failure...I just like it.  Both gardens have undergone several transformations and I am happy to report successful harvests, successful in my eyes anyway. With the help of my ever-helpful and skilled husband, my gardens get watered automatically and protected from birds, dog and children.  I couldn't do it without him.

 Back Garden: 4x8 raised beds from lumber we had laying around, PVC, chicken wire and deer netting to keep the critters out.

Side garden.

 Zucchini and tomatoes in raised beds.

 Squash, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, herbs and even corn in the side garden! Sweet!  (May 2012)

 The big cucumber is an Armenian cucumber I grew in the rocks in the perimeter of my side yard.

 Anaheim chilis, jalepenos and mexibells from the back garden.

Salad greens, peppers a weird carrot and loads of tomatillos. I grew the tomatillos in a random location in the perimeter of the back yard as an experiment.