Yes dogs love gardens. One day I found my German shepherd lying on the leaves of my cucumbers. It must have been a cool spot on a hot day. It didn't help the cucumbers much though.

Something else easy to grow is herbs. If you grow peppermint/spearmint you might want to put it in a container because mint just grows and grows and grows and takes over.

Which kind of peas did your mom grow? My favorite is sugar snap peas and yes they are delicious right out of the garden.

If you can find seed or plants Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are absolutely delicious. I love a slice of those pretty pink tomatoes with a bit of mayo on bread. Yum!