• baking pan
• soil and sand
• collected plants, weeds, flowers, branches, and sticks
• pebbles or gravel
• materials for a "pond," such as aluminum foil, dish of real water, hand mirror
• optional materials for building garden accessories, suich as craft sticks for a fence, Lincoln Logs for a small cabin, toothpicks and glue for building garden furniture
• toy figurines or mini-action figures of choice to play in the garden, such as animals, car, dog or cat, elf, horse, person, statuette
• water in a spray bottle

1. Fill a baking pan (or other large container) with soil. Pat firmly. Build up one end of the pan as a hill or incline, if desired.
2. Put real plants into the soil. Pat dirt around plants firmly.
3. Sticks and small branches pushed into the dirt look like trees. These will last for some time with moist soil.
4. Build sand pathways lined with pebbles.
5. Partially bury a reflective piece of foil or a small mirror in the soil to look like a pond. A dish of water will resemble a pond too.
6. Add other ideas, like a Lincoln Log cabin or a fence made of craft sticks. Glue toothpicks together to make a bench or other garden furniture.
7. Play in the garden with a toy person or animal figure.
8. Keep the garden moist with water from a spray bottle.

Construct a larger garden or scene in a sand table, sandbox, or washtub.