Welcome to All Things Plants, Originalor, you chose a great website, a great article and an excellent question. You also chose a great time to ask it.
The answer depends on your climate, your environment, your soil and your growing zone. I live in zone 7a and for me, rosemary grows outside year round but basil is one I have to replant every year. And thyme will usually pop right back up in the spring, but not always if our winters have been harsh. Mint grows year round and a few others do as well. But I can only speak for zone 7a, so that likely won't do you a bit of good in your zone.
But don't give up. ATP has a great little tool and you might be able to figure it all out for yourself. Here's what you do to find your answers:
* Look at the blue column on the left right here on this screen and you will see the word "Goodies". Click on Goodies.
* You've now found ATP's Garden Planning Calendar. Once there the page will ask you to add your zip code or your location, do that then click on 'Continue'.
* Now you find yourself with a great guide for planting mostly vegetables and you might become interested in them too.
But your question centers around specific herbs so here's what I think. Look at the calendar anyway and find the last frost date for your zone, better yet, notice where it states that you should check to see if your soil is 60*F or above. Knowing that date will keep your tender plants from being killed by frost. That's pretty important since what you are asking concerns the leaves of the herbs. We need to protect the leaves.
Usually my western end of Kentucky is frost free by the middle to late March and if I'm planting seeds, they'll go in the ground no later than then. If you are starting with young plants you've purchased, you might want to wait till nearer the end of April because Spring rains can be brutal in my area. Leaves don't stand a chance.
Look through the Garden Planning Calendar first and there will be others who might give you more specific answers here on this thread, but another good place to go is to our Herb Forum. Ask more questions there and there'll always be great members who can help you. I'm very sure the first question you'll be asked is which growing zone you live and garden in. You might even find more ATP members near you and that would be a great help.
Here's the link to take you to the Herb Forum, just click here:
http://garden.org/forums/view/...
ATP is filled with helpful members, don't ever be afraid to ask questions. If we can't answer, we can usually point you to someone who can.
Happy Herb Gardening to you. One thing always leads to another and soon you might even want to plant vegetables that will go well with your herbs!
