Landscaping Project: Step One....

So I am one of those lucky Brooklynites that actually has a backyard... ok it looks like a prison yard at the present moment, but hey it's still there.  Now that my lil man is a toddler and this will be his first summer where he's mobile, it's time for me to put my mommy gloves on and get this "yard" in shape.  Ok now how the heck do you landscape concrete?!  Thats my challenge at hand and I wish I could just be on one of those design shows on HGTV where they come in, do everything for you and make some amazing garden.  Hmm, mental note: look into reality tv. Meanwhile, I turned to craigslist to buy $40 worth of used patio furniture, which I hauled by myself from a yuppie couple's apartment down near Wall Street back to Bed Stuy.  Then I bought a $99 gazebo with a mosquito net that was on sale at Target.  While I  could set up the patio furniture on my own, it's gonna probably take a 6 pack of beers to con, uh i  mean, motivate a male friend to build the gazebo for me.  Now I just gotta figure out how to make the unpaved concrete into something safe for my son and his friends to play on... its between mulch, rocks, and astroturf at this point.  I'm still searching my beloved craigslist for a gently used sandbox, got Home Depot for plants on my to do list, and am aspiring to build myself a little zen garden in one corner so mommy can go out and meditate when I need to.  Wish me luck and I will post the evolution of this concrete yard on a budget in the concrete jungle.