An Old World cottage-garden annual grown for daisy- to chrysanthemum-like flowerheads (3-4 inches across) in bright yellow through deep orange, often with a contrasting darker center disk. In cool climates it blooms over a long summer-to-fall window; in hot summers it tends to languish and may need a midseason cutback to rebloom. The somewhat bitter flowers and lance-shaped aromatic leaves are edible, and the petals lend color to soups, rice, and baked goods.

A low woody herb for sunny edges, between pavers, and herb-garden borders with pollinator-friendly summer flowers.

Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is a clump-forming perennial herb from South Africa grown for its long season of small, star-shaped lilac-pink flowers, carried in airy umbels on slender stems well above narrow, grassy, grey-green leaves from late spring into autumn. The foliage is garlic-scented, and the leaves and flowers are edible, used like garlic chives in South African cooking — the friendly name comes from its milder, more sociable garlic breath. It is an easy, drought-tolerant, long-flowering choice for sunny borders, edging, and containers, and a reliable bee and butterfly plant. Native to the Cape provinces and KwaZulu-Natal, it is reasonably hardy (to about USDA zone 7 with sharp drainage) but can be cut back or lost in a hard winter, and the garlic scent is reputed to deter some insect pests and even moles. RHS gives Tulbaghia violacea (and the cultivar 'Silver Lace') its Award of Garden Merit and rates it half-hardy (H3).

A fast, fine-textured cool-season culinary annual in the carrot family (Apiaceae), native to the Middle East, Russia, and the Caucasus and now grown worldwide. NC State Extension describes an erect, spreading plant about 1-2 feet tall with light green, feathery, finely divided (tripinnate) leaves — like a more delicate parsley — and a mild aniseed scent. Small white five-petaled flowers open in saucer-shaped umbels 1-2 inches across in spring and summer. It is generally grown as an annual (occasionally biennial in milder areas), prefers cool weather in moist, well-drained soil, and is a classic component of French fines herbes, prized for a delicate flavor best used fresh.

A clumping perennial onion-relative forming dense grass-like tufts of hollow tubular leaves + globular lavender-pink flowerheads in late spring. Edible leaves + flowers; among the easiest perennial vegetables for beginners. Globular flowerheads are major early-season nectar sources for honey bees + native bees.

A Mediterranean herbaceous perennial forming a spreading mat of small aromatic leaves + open clusters of small pink-to-white flowers in summer. Strongly attractive to honey bees, bumblebees, hoverflies, and small butterflies; among the best edible herbs for pollinator support. The cultivars used for cooking (Greek oregano, Italian oregano) are selections of this species.