Chives. Low growing with round clusters of purple flowers; very easy to grow and pretty, too.
Greek Oregano. A must for Italian cooking; can spread so give it some room; easy.
Rosemary. A good background plant since it gets tall (except trailing type); very aromatic.
English Thyme. Small leaves and low growth; the most used thyme for cooking.
Curly Spearmint. Pretty curly leaves and fresh mint flavor for use in fruit salad, drinks, and desserts.

Annual Herbs
(Plant new plants every year.)

Dill. Plant every year for the ferny foliage and distinctive fresh taste; much better fresh than dried.
Parsley. Easy to grow; plant in fall or early spring since it likes cool weather; bright green leaves.
Sweet Basil. Pesto lovers know the fragrance and wonderful taste of this herb; fresh leaves are much better than dried.

Add other basils, caraway, chervil, garlic chives, cilantro, scented geraniums, lovage, sweet marjoram, lemon grass, more mints, some of the other oreganos, any of the sages, winter savory, french sorrel, french tarragon, and other thymes in that extra space!

Fragrance Garden

Plant these herbs for their delightful scents! Full sun and not too much fertilizer will bring out the strongest scents. Plant them where you pass by often or near your front door as a greeting to your guests.

Lavender Provence or Seal. That lavender scent in a plant that is a little easier to grow in our heavy soils. The other lavenders benefit from containers or raised beds and a sandy soil mix.
Rosemary. Very fragrant leaves on evergreen shrubs. Arp, Hill Hardy are Furneaux Hardy are all cold hardy selections. Trailing rosemary makes a great hanging basket that will scent a room.
Lemon Verbena. The most wonderful lemon fragrance! This shrubby grower is winter tender so it makes a good potted plant to bring in for the winter. Small plants set in the garden in spring make good size plants by fall.
Pineapple Sage. It really does smell like pineapple and it has beautiful bright red flowers in late summer and fall. Somewhat winter tender but easy care.
Mexican Mint Marigold. Pair with Pineapple Sage for a great combination. Both grow 3-4' tall and the small yellow flowers of this plant are a good contrast with the red of the sage. It has a licorice scent and narrow leaves. Heat tolerant.
Chocolate Mint. Plant in containers to contain its spread - or let it go and enjoy a big area of this wonderful fragrance! Mints like more moisture than most herbs and can grow in part shade.
Nutmeg Geranium. An attractive plant with a trailing habit, this scented geranium is well suited to a container.

Other fragrance plants are basils, eucalyptus, other scented geraniums, hyssop, other lavenders, lemon balm, lemon grass, other mints, sweet myrtle, panama rose, southernwod, and vicks plant.