You can be successful either way but for beginning gardeners I like to suggest starting the seed of certain plants indoors then transplanting out doors once the weather has warmed. The best type of \"go between\" or starter container for seeds is a peat pot made of earth that you just plant directly into the ground once the seedlings are large enough to handle the weather. These pots are available at most garden center and home center stores. Many flowers will grow from seed spread directly on top of the soil - alyssum, cosmos and poppies for example. But warm season flowers such as impatiens and petunias do better started indoors then moved outside once the weather has warmed. I would start with the easy to grow flower seeds that can be planted directly into the ground. Nastursiam seeds are perhaps the easiest to start as long as you wait until all danger of frost has passed. The best advice for starting any plant from seed is to read and follow the directions on the seed pack. Good Luck and welcome to the miracle of growing from seed. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti