Great discussion! I just have small front and back courtyards as I live in the city. I amy lucky as the front courtyard faces south. I love herbs for both smell and culinary use and they do very well in pots. I grow sweet basil, globe basil, thai basil (slightly licorice) and lemon basil. They are all great for slightly different flavors on fish and chicken or pasta and pesto. I also find that I get a few returning plants the following year, and since I plant different varieties together the new plants often have a slightly different flavor that is a combination of the others. It is also fun to grow different flavors of thyme for the same reasons. I grow lemon, lime, and german thyme for cooking. I also grow creeping thyme between my pavers for the great smell it releases.