Chef's Choice is a compact rosemary selected for the kitchen: high oil content, rich flavor, and a dense, rounded habit around a foot and a half. It's evergreen in Birmingham, so you can snip sprigs for the grill in January.

Grow it in full sun with sharp drainage; a raised bed, herb pot, or gravelly slope suits it better than heavy, wet clay. Blue flowers appear in the cool months and feed early bees. Harvest often; regular cutting keeps it dense.