Thyme is an evergreen ground cover in some zones. Oh, just saw 4b. I'm really not sure. Sorry I couldn't be more help :(

could you keep them in an unheated shed or storage room with very little water and then in the spring just cut off all the nasty etiolation?

Parsley is a biennial (like an annual except it has a 2-year growth cycle instead of 1 yr) that's going to bolt in its second year, so buy a new plant. Most species of thyme can be over-wintered in a garage or maybe on the porch if it's enclosed. They don't like to be warm in the winter and are very prone to mites under warm, dry conditions indoors. A north-facing window sill behind the window treatment in a cold room would be better than trying to keep it growing. I had good luck with rosemary under lights in a 68* basement with humidity in the 50-60% range, but it doesn't do well indoors in low humidity. You can also over-winter rosemary in an attached garage by putting the plant on the garage floor and covering it with an overturned cardboard box which traps geo heat coming through the garage floor. I had 4 rosemary bonsai more than 20 years old on a large table in the garage that were lost in winter '13 when the garage door was inadvertently left open on one of those very cold -12* nights we occasionally get in MI. I lost a LOT of zone 7 & 8 plants that night - plants that normally over-wintered just fine in the garage in years previous.

Al

Thanks for all the advice so far. I am aware that parsley is biennial, but was hoping to be able to harvest off the plant through winter at least. Not sure when it's going to bolt, but thought I might have some time left. I do have an unheated shed with an opaque plastic "skylight" at the peak, maybe I will try the thyme and rosemary in there. Mostly I just hate buying bundles of herbs at the store for $4 a package in winter when I'll just need a tiny bit for a recipe. I find it hard to use all the fresh herbs that come in those packs before they go bad. And dry/frozen is fine, but not an adequate substitute for fresh all the time.

Use fresh in season and grow enough to freeze or dry for the winter.

Yes, you can harvest as much as you can get before it bolts. I have had parsley make it in a cooler room and continue to grow. I always harvested the thyme and parsley and put it in the freezer. But you can keep the plant going for a while in a sunny, cool window.

BTW, the parsley and cilantro I grew in large containers outdoors would reseed and I would get fresh new plants in early Spring. Try planting a large containers with the herbs you use. Sage will survive, parsley will come back as will leeks and chives. I kept large containers outside my kitchen door on my deck.

Jane