Many of the most common annual herbs are at their best before they bloom. If you plant Basil into the garden with your tomato plants, the basil may have bolted by the time you get your first ripe tomato. Sowing and planting basil all summer long is the ticket to the tastiest caprese when you have more tomatoes than you know what to do with. Bolloso Napoletano is our favorite Italian basil, but Amethyst is a beautiful true Genovese type that is spectacular with sweet yellow or white tomatoes and an ideal choice for edible landscaping.

Thai curries are among our favorite meals in summer, and even if you would never bother to make a curry paste from scratch, a handful of Thai Basil will go a long way to making your curry superlative and fresh. We use Lime Basil to flavor fresh salsa and Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil in egg and chicken salads. Frilled and fragrant Opalescent Basil imparts a pretty pink hue to refrigerator pickles and simple syrups for flavoring summer lemonades and cocktails.

Marjoram is an herb common to diverse European cuisines but too rarely seen in American gardens. Like basil, it should be sown successively, as we find the foliage to be at its most flavorful before it blooms. Suitable for sowing directly into containers in full sun, just keep the seeds moist. Use fresh in a garlicky vinaigrette or sauce with grilled zucchini and eggplant. Also excellent dried!

Some big Carrots and Beets must be sown in July for harvest in the autumn. When sown into gardens that are super warm and sunny these seeds will benefit from a light cover of loose straw or cut tall grass to shelter and shade the soil while seeds germinate. Run a sprinkler morning and evening in hot dry weather to help maintain consistent soil moisture and hasten germination.

Violet Carrots are ancient and only rarely found at market in this country but they are easy to grow in the garden. These thick dense roots are usually deep purple nearly to the core and suitable for juicing. The plants grow slowly and are best harvested in autumn after several frosts. July is the ideal time to sow these seeds in the Northeast. Needs generous spacing and consistent moisture for best performance but very much worth the garden space and the trouble. The similarly rare and unique Küttiger Carrot can be sown now as well!

We cannot plant everything in Spring. There is not enough time. Which is fine, because many Perennials prefer to be planted in autumn and are easy to start indoors in summer. Here we highlight seeds that require no special treatment, typically germinating easily at room temperature within just a couple weeks.

Mints are probably not the first thing that come to mind when we think of native plants, but Mountain Mint is native to the Northeast and a gorgeous hardy perennial that is easy to grow. Showy silvery bracts on bushy plants that are attractive all season. Beloved by our native bees and butterflies and makes a fine fragrant tea. Competes well with other plants but not invasive.

We think of Violas as loving cool weather and moisture, but the unique little Corsican Violet germinates readily at room temperature and tolerates more heat and sun than any other Viola species we know of. Consider pairing these plants with Creeping Goldentuft, an early blooming groundcover and a nice alternative to Creeping Thyme, which can also be sown now for fall planting!