jquery datepicker manipulation - php

Question

Can someone please tell me how I can make the datepicker pick a date that is after a certain date I choose.
For example I want the date picker to pick dates after 03/08/2012.
Here is my simple datepicker:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function(){
$("#date").datepicker({ dateFormat: 'm/d/yy', minDate: 0});
});
</script>
What if the date was stored in a php variable. for eg. $var='03/08/2012'. Is splitting it one by one only way to do it?
I am trying to get the date from a dynamic php variable. For eg:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function() {
$( "#date" ).datepicker({ minDate: new Date(<?php echo $split_date[2];?>, <?php echo ($split_date[0] - 1);?>, <?php echo $split_date[1]; ?>)});
});
</script>
<?php
$date='03/08/2011';
$split_date=explode("/",$date);
echo $split_date[0];
echo $split_date[1];
echo $split_date[2];
?>
but nothing i tried so far works!

Answer 1

According to jQuery's doc on the Datepicker, you should do
<script>
$(function() {
$( "#datepicker" ).datepicker({ minDate: -20, maxDate: "+1M +10D" });
});
</script>
Restrict the range of selectable dates with the minDate and maxDate options. Set the beginning and end dates as actual dates (new Date(2009, 1 - 1, 26)), as a numeric offset from today (-20), or as a string of periods and units ('+1M +10D'). For the last, use 'D' for days, 'W' for weeks, 'M' for months, or 'Y' for years.
If you want it to start from 03/08/2012, you should write
<script>
$(function() {
$( "#datepicker" ).datepicker({ minDate: new Date(2012, 3 - 1, 8)});
});
</script>
You can also refer to this answer:
changing minDate option in JQuery DatePicker not working

Answer 2

Try:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function(){
$("#date").datepicker({
'dateFormat': 'm/d/yy',
'minDate': new Date(<?php echo date('Y, m, d'); ?>)
});
});
</script>