I'm not sure where you live, but there's an organization here in Chicago called Neighborspace that buys undeveloped land and converts it into green space. Volunteers from the community have the freedom to turn it into whatever they want: playground, native plant garden, vegetable garden, etc.
I'm sure there's a community org that does that in every city, and if there isn't one, you could try starting one up. Figure out what you need, then hire a really good grant writer. Prepare to do a LOT of work in April and May.
Right now is a great time to plant, surprisingly. Garlic, onions, and other bulbs are good for planting in late fall. They'll come up sometime in summer. Tulips and crocuses in the springtime.
About the herb garden question, most herbs cannot handle less than 5 or 6 hours of direct sunlight and they need to be outdoors. I've never had much luck growing herbs inside, mostly because they need a certain amount of air circulation and humidity that an indoor environment can't provide.
Also, impatients need to be deadheaded just like any other flowering plant. If the flower spike is turning brown and droopy, just pluck it off at the base of its stem and it will encourage more flowers bud growth. Fertilizing helps too, something high in phosphorus- that's the middle number out of three that you see on all commercial fertilizers.
Ok, I think I've rambled on enough about gardening, sorry guys...
