Are you talking about dwarf greek basil? I've seen those balls as well and they're indeed adorable.

I've wedged some rainbow chard and lacinato kale in my annual bed and I liked it a lot. This year I'm doing lacinato kale again, as well as physallis, jimmy nardello peppers, and chives - they're going into the flower bed!

Not sure what variety of basil it was but it seemed to lend itself well to trimming like a topiary or boxwood hedge. I’ve also used creeping thyme to edge flowerbeds, not as pretty to look at but great smell when you brush up against it.

I’ll do a blog post when I plant the veggies in my flowerbeds. Exciting to try it out!

I do it the other way around, grow a lot of flowers in my edible (fruit/vegetable) garden.

In my zone 5a Tulips bloom first:

Peonies follow in a month or so:

And Daisies:

And on and on . . .

Yes, flowers in veggie beds are a good idea too. If you plant the right ones, they can also act as companion plants that help your veggies grow better, attract beneficial insects and either repel or become a sacrificial plant for pest insects.

I’ve had good luck with marigolds and nasturtiums.