Hi,
I have big plans for my backyard, but am not sure where to begin. I
don't want to compromise the health of my plants for the sake of
speediness / ease.

My yard is 30 x 50 feet. Right now it is heavy clay (mixed with chunks
of brick and other crap left behind by my friendly neighbourhood
builder) and covered with a layer of extremely unhappy sod. In the
spring it is a mudhole, but seems to be drying up now (finally.)

These are my current plans... I plan to put in a hardscape area
(flagstone), a border garden along the whole of the fence perimeter, a
small pond in the back corner and a covered seating area opposite.

I was thinking of putting down a thick layer of wood chip / mulch from
the recycling yard, and tilling the whole mess under (including the
sod.) If I do this, what kind of results / problems can I expect? Any
better ideas?
Is this a poor idea for the area under the hardscape? (I plan to put
in a decent gravel bed under the flags...)

Thanks for your ideas,
Andrea