Herbs are great. The foliage is savory to smell, they're neat and tidy pretty much all summer long, and most people don't realize this, but they bloom!
Chives are the showiest, with their purple spiky flower heads atop long green stems. The blossoms are edible too.
Narrow leaved Sage puts on a show too. It has gray-green, almost fuzzy leaves, with beautiful purple flowers on a long stem that resemble a penstemon or a snapdragon. Hummingbirds love this flower.
Rosemary is considered an annual here. I had one plant survive four winters, and become very large. The last year it lived, it actually bloomed. I think it's pretty rare for Rosemary bloom, at least in Missouri. It had lots of pale pink flowers and I was very proud for having kept it going for so long.
Thyme makes a wonderful ground cover. I use it in the front of my flowerbeds and anywhere it can creep between stepping stones. Some varieties look like a low carpet of pink when they're in full bloom. My favorite thyme right now is a variegated one, it's white and green leaves are very showy. I have 5 of them right now, let's see how hardy they really are. It's my experience that the more ornamental the herbs are, the less likely they are to survive our harsh winters.
Most herbs are fairly drought resistant, so if you forget to water them, they don't immediately shrivel up on you. Put some in a potted container along with some of annuals. Mix them in with your regular flower gardens. Make sure to plant some along a path that you walk along often so their scent will fill the air when you brush by them. And don't forget to pick plenty to season those summer meals. Herbs flourish when they're used often. All this talk about herbs makes me want to buy more!
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