Given your questions, I think a basic book on herbs will be invaluable to you. That said, I'm just to your south in Western NY State. We would have similar conditions and hardy herbs in our locations. Hardy, overwintering: sage, oregano, chives, thyme, lovage, English lavender, hardneck garlic, and all sorts of medicinal herbs. Biennial: parsley. Annual: basil, dill, cilantro. And of course there are a wide range of less common herbs too.

Yes - I agree you need to do a bit of reading to get to grips with the nature of all these disparate species which we lump together under the label 'herbs'. That is just a reference to the way we use them and nothing to do with their botanical attributes. Everything on your list should survive for you except dill and basil which are annuals. BTW Chives are incredibly hardy and will live for years flowering happily annually.

Thanks. I seem to have a green thumb when it comes to everything except herbs. Will do some reading.

basil always seems to re-seed itself for me. a lot of herbs do.

Perennial Herbs*

catnip

chives

lavender

lemon balm

lovage

lemongrass

marjoram

mint

oregano

rosemary

sage

tarragon

thyme

https://www.google.com/search?q=Perennial+Herbs

Lauygh- not all the herbs in greenman's list are hardy in our zone. Ones that are not hardy include tarragon, Rosemary, marjoram, lemongrass.

I thought tarragon was a perennial in cold zones? I can grow it perennially in my zone, but I have to force it to sleep in winter or put a chunk in the fridge for 6 weeks. I thought in colder zones the low soil temperatures was actually what keeps it alive...

Going from memory so my mistake about tarragon.

I grow lemon verbena, lemon grass and rosemary in pots on my deck and bring them inside for the winter. The lemon verbena usually suffers from aphids during that time but not enough to kill it. I've only ever had to plant dill once...it self sows profusely throughout the garden, likewise with cilantro and chives. I buy seeds for basil and parsley...these get started indoors in the Spring.

I agree with donna_in_sask about dill. It self sows in my NH garden (cold side of zone 5). Cilantro is self-sowing in my high tunnel. Parsley is usually a biennial for me. Some years I have successfully overwintered lemon verbena. I believe it needs to go dormant but also needs some water during the winter. I kept it in a semi-heated garage (temps usually stayed at 55 F). Last winter I was able to overwinter rosemary and two different variegated sages in my high tunnel swaddled with Agribon garden fabric. The winters rosemary did well indoors for me was when I kept it in a small bathroom. I think the extra humidity helped it survive. A friend used to point her humidifier at her rosemary and kept it until it just got too big. I've never tried to save basil seed but I should try it.

Lemon balm should do more than well...makes an excellent tea but will crowd out everything else if you allow it to, and even naturalize all over the place.

If you find the right spot for oregano it will also do quite well for a few years. It likes moderate moisture and a bit of shade. Only the basic thyme and sage will overwinter; the specially speckled or colored ones usually will not. They both do better in pots or raised beds; really need that sharp drainage.

Most of the more basic peppermints, as well as pineapple mint (the one with white spotted leaves) overwinter nicely. Most mints should have their own restricted growing areas, but pineapple mint is a bit more civilized and less inclined to take over an entire bed.

Lemongrass and pineapple sage are both well worth growing even though they must be brought in and rerooted. They both produce freely if given adequate sun and will keep you in tasty teas all summer.