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 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 warm-weather annual of the carrot family grown in herb gardens for two distinct crops from one plant: the lacy, strong-scented foliage harvested young as cilantro, and the aromatic dried seed harvested as coriander. The plant bolts and flowers quickly in hot weather, throwing up showy white-to-pale-lavender umbels and a marked leaf dimorphism — broad scalloped lower leaves give way to fine, thread-like upper foliage on the flowering stems. Fast and easy from a direct sowing, it is best succession-planted for a steady leaf harvest before heat triggers bolting.

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

A rhizomatous, upright herbaceous perennial of the mint family, most commonly grown as a culinary or medicinal herb and as a ground cover. A natural hybrid of watermint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata), it carries fragrant rounded-to-lance-shaped toothed leaves on square stems and showy pink flower spikes in mid- to late summer. Native to Europe, it spreads aggressively by rhizomes into an attractive ground cover and rarely sets seed, so it is propagated vegetatively and is best confined by a soil barrier (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

A bushy, lemon-scented herbaceous perennial of the mint family, grown for its wrinkled, ovate medium-green leaves that crush to a bright citrus fragrance. Tiny two-lipped white-to-pale-yellow flowers appear in the leaf axils through summer and draw bees. Native to southern Europe, it has escaped gardens and naturalized across much of the U.S.; frequent pruning keeps it leafy, curbs self-seeding, and produces the most fragrant new growth.