Rosemary belongs by the back door, where you can snip sprigs for the pan all year without a trip outside. Its narrow, resinous needles stay green through winter, and the small blue flowers draw bees when little else is blooming.

Give it full sun and sharp drainage above everything, since wet feet kill rosemary far more often than cold does. Grow it in a pot by the kitchen door or on a dry bank where water runs away fast.