Because cilantro foliage turns bitter very quickly as it matures, quality is unpredictable when this herb is purchased at the supermarket. In the herb garden, however, a cook can always capture cilantro at its peak by sowing a short row of seeds every couple of weeks. Watch for yellowing foliage, a sign that it's time to pull out old plants. Snip just what you need for the evening's meal and savor the rest for later by sowing this special greenhouse variety of chives outdoors, then potting some up for the winter. Credit the plucky Swiss for this clever selection.
Chives are perennial.
Hearty dishes like crock-pot stews benefit from the bold taste of lovage. Lovage is one of the first herbs to emerge in the spring and is reliably hard to USDA Zone 5. Plant sage if your taste runs to tangerine, pineapple, grape or honey melon. Find these exotic culinary herbs and many more between the covers of Richters Herbs catalog. The Gourmet Gardener carries seeds for many of them as well.