The kinds that are in the ground are usually perennials, where once planted, they stay. If your wanting to know what is eating your garden, you may want to consider a live ytrap, such as a Hav-a-Heart. These come in many sizes. Here, I had a big woodchuck almost totally destroy my garden. Some of the damage was also from voles. I had o resort to a lethal trap for the woodchuck which was the size of a really big cat. they can climb too, and that varmint chewed up my nectarine tree. I had also trapped rabbits, and several possums that chewed holes in my cantaloupes. These were relocated to a larger wooded area. Now, I can grow most any herb including basil without any chewing damages. This year, I also plan to grow some different types of greens, mostly lettuce types. If they start to show damage, out come the traps again.. Most herbs are fairly well reserved and will not becoame aggressive, but mint and a few others may.

Growing in pots vs the ground is completely up to the individual. How much space you have for pots or a garden and how much sun you have usually dictates whether you should grow in a pot or in the garden. Other considerations may be the hardiness of the plant. If not hardy in your area, you might want to be able to bring a certain plant in for protection.

Chives, like many other plants, can become invasive by reseeding. Keeping the flowers cut back before the seed ripens will prevent unwanted seedlings. Even in a pot, seeds can drop in the cracks of a patio and come up in the spring.
Since you don't know what was eating your basil plants it is difficult to say with certainty that growing them in a pot will cure the problem. Slugs or Japanese beetles can damage a plant in the ground or in a pot. Certain four-legged critters may not venture close to the house to find plants in a pot. Some critters don't mind getting close so even a potted plant isn't "safe". Try to figue out the culprit before designing a strategy to defeat it. In my county it is illegal to trap and relocate wildlife without a license.

For critter reasons I have:

In pots: Parsley, Basil, Dill;

In the ground: Oregano, Culinary Sage, Thyme, Chives, Rosemary, Mint.

I have a very small, courtyard-sized garden, so the larger herbs go into the ground, and the spreaders go into pots. Also in pots are any plants that won't fit anywhere else, or those which can get so big they swamp everything else (such as lemongrass). Potted plants are always stunted to some degree. I keep a bay tree in a pot because in the ground it would eventually get bigger than my entire house!

There are no hard and fast rules, really. Except for mint which absolutely MUST be potted to prevent it from taking over the world. And perhaps fennel, which retards growth of nearby plants and also self-seeds promiscuously.

I always put basil in the garden, because it's a greedy feeder and gets bigger than when potted - and also because it likes as much heat and sun as it can get. It's a personal preference where you want any plant, for the most part.

Perhaps it is the soil I have (heavy clay) or the weather (Western NY State) or perhaps it is my philosophy on gardening but I find very few herbs to spread to the point of being obnoxious. My most promiscuous herbs are the effective self-seeders, including lemon balm, feverfew, borage, dill, catnip, mullein, and elecampane. But I just harvest, give away, or move any that are located in a poor spot.

I find that chives do spread some but I would never call them invasive. Allowed to their own devices in the garden they will become a nice round clump. Occasionally I move some new "volunteer" plants to be near the mother clump but as a rule I don't have to. Just give them a nice little corner to fill in. Nothing is prettier in the early spring than a nice, robust clump of blooming chives.

I would plant what you could in the ground, if you are looking for the plants to grow their best.

FataMorgana

I agree with FataMorgana-- my chives have never become invasive. When I lived in the city, my mint was even controlled, due to raised beds and me pulling up when it wandered, in the country-- yes, it could have taken over the world.

If the pots are large with good soil, I'd grow nasturtiums
for sure. One of my favorite herbs and they would look lovely as a plus. I've grown basil in raised bed and large deck boxes with the most success.

Oregeno and catnip are the only really obnoxious herbs I've had in-ground. More so even than the many varieties of mint I grow in-ground. The only herb I put in pots is basil, just so I can always have some on-hand through the winter months. But I also have some out in the garden once the weather warms up.

My "best behaved" herbs have been: Rosemary, Lavendar, Rue, Pineapple Sage, Lemon Verbena, Roman Chamomile, "bush" thyme (vs. creeping), and French Tarragon.

If I ever grow horehound again, it will be in a pot. I don't know about growing it in the ground in Maine but when I lived in Missouri it just went beserk! be sure to clip those seed heads off too if you decide to grow it.

It's really funny how differently herbs can behave depending upon the conditions of where you live. I've been "trying" to grow horehound now for a few years. Rather unsuccessfully. The plants stay rather small and don't really thrive. I've tried different locations and had similar results. It should grow here but....

So I guess we should point out that your plants can grow differently depending upon your local conditions. Visit other gardens in your area and talk to local gardeners to get more exact details on what to expect. Gardeners love to talk plants!

FataMorgana

I had forgotten about the oregano and catnip...when we lived in the city the catnip was ALL over--it was horrible. I would never plant it. I did pull it up and left one plant--it wasn't as bad as the mints to get rid of. But, catmint (Nepeta mussinii) I love-- it's much prettier and not invasive for me. Oregano wasn't a problem until I was super busy one year and let it go to seed. Wow, HUGE mistake.

I want to start an herb garden. The thing is that my dogs won't let me have nothing in the groun so I'm a little curious on how big of pots and what kind should I use to plant my herbs. Do what kind of soil should I use. I am kind of new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated. God Bless

Everyone should also realize that there are many many hundreds of thousands of herb types. So each type may need specific growing conditions. The term 'herbs' is way too general. Think of it as in a similar family of something called 'dirt'. Dirt, as you know can also be many hundreds of thousands of dirt and soil types, ranging from many kinds of indoor dust and dirt, to outside where its even more variable. Simply saying 'herbs' and how to grow them, is just too general a term to use. You can grow some herbs in pots, while others can grow as big as trees, as well as some like lots of sun, while other do not like sunlight all the time. Decide what kinds of herbs you wish to grow, and then post specific questions about a single herb or singl herb type. Dill, for instance has severl strains, as dos oregano, basil, and almost every other herb you can think of. There is no one that can list each and every herb that can be grown in a container or pot. Chain up the animals and keep them away from the garden area. Another option is an invisible fence, where the pet animals enter and get a slight shock (through their collars) to let them know they ae not supposed to be there. Soon, thy will learn to stay away. Luckly here, no matter f you have a yard or not, pets are supposed to be on a leash, except for cats. Fencing may also help keep out some of them. Most plants do benefit much better if planted in outdoor soils.