Quote Originally Posted by chopperward
have just been outside to take some pics of the garden.

in sunny conditions is it best to have a high arpeture setting? ie f4

or could i use a lower arpeture (to get depth) with alternative shutter speed?

the lower shutter speed seemed to take better photo's

i used the canon 20d, with 18-55mm lens
May I suggest that you take a photography course at a local college? The questions you are asking are very basic and would take a long time to answer as everything would have a long list of caveats attached. Worse yet, the answers might be more confusing than the questions. You'll be much happier once you get the photography basics under your belt. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts!