We were lucky enough that our rental house has a nice patch that is stoned off to use as our garden area. Quick trip to Lowes (and Home Depot...and Wal-Mart) we got our goodies! Cute gardening set for Thomas, some Miracle-Gro Soil, assortment of plants, and to jazz things up - Crayola Colored PlaySand.
Thomas picked out some cherry tomatos, strawberries, and some flowers. Me - I wanted to get on this garden train too, and bought some frequently used herbs (oregano, rosemary, and basil).
End result was marvelous!