You didn't mention what kinds of uses you had in mind. Beware that not all herbs are culinary, and some are downright dangerous (every once in a while a woman will poison herself drinking pennyroyal oil). Some very common herbs are not very useful, and some obscure ones highly desireable. I would say that the Thymes are some of the most useful and versatile. I love them. They have so many interesting and useful fragrances--if you can find them. Unfortunately I am not a good source of information regarding hardiness (a very mild z8). I know that some are hardier than others. The most common Thymes are not considered particularly culinary--they are used as groundcovers. The culinary Thymes tend to be taller, a little bigger-leaved, and more fragrant. One of my favorites is "orange balsam" Thyme, which indeed has a balsomy and vaguely citrusy scent. It is delicious. I also like Oregano Thyme, which smells better than the real thing (and holds its scent pretty much all year in my climate), "Lime Thyme" (which to my nose smells lemony, not limey), and I have just discovered "Lavender Thyme" which smells amazingly like Lavender but is available year-round whereas real Lavender only blooms briefly. These are all low-growing, creeping evergreen subshrubs. People like to grow them as groundcovers but they tolerate almost no traffic and are prone to getting thin. I grow them on the edge of my herb garden. I love Monarda. It is a good hardy plant, has pretty flowers, attracts hummingbirds, and makes a good tisane. Or mix it half and half with black tea to make ersatz Earl Grey tea. It is a leafy perennial much like mint (some people call it "horse mint"). The flowers are blazing scarlet, except some cultivars have subtler colors. It has some very pretty and also fragrant relations. I might try M. punctata next year. Monarda didyma (sp?) likes it moist (even wet), whereas M. punctata grows with drier feet. The mints all like moisture--often growing naturally along rivers or in damp meadows, and at least one of them is aquatic (Mentha aquatica). Despite their weedy nature I do grow my favorite mints. Useful in the kitchen. The Thymes all need good drainage, or they will rot. I dunno what the limits are for true Oregano; my impression is that it is a lot hardier than most of its rather tender relatives. Not as attractive as they are, tho. Oreganos can be quite ornamental. Don't bother with Marjoram; it won't be hardy for you anyway (unless it's been crossed with Oregano, which it does readily) and most forms are almost scentless. Oregano for people who hate Oregano. I always wonder what the purpose of dried marjoram is in a recipe. I love Fennel. Don't know how hardy it is but a weedy plant like that must be somewhat hardy. You use the leaves as an herb and the seed as a spice. They both smell like licorice. You can toss young fennel leaves into a salad. Fennel seed is good on bread rolls, or just a touch in spaghetti sauce. Bronze fennel is a shorter variety that is ornamental; you can grow it in a flower bed but use it in the kitchen. I love its close relation Dill in the kitchen, but it is an annual and I have never gotten it to perform particularly well. I can't get it to naturalize. Doesn't seem as well suited to my climate as its very aggressive perennial cousin (that often just shows up--as does Lemon Balm which is very common here as a feral plant). I like Chives and they are easy to grow and kinda pretty in the garden when they bloom. Cute.

basil can start from cuttings in water so, if you are in a hurry, or low in seed, you can try that. sometimes you can extend the life of basil and other herbs by cutting off all of the flower heads. generally, they dont last longer than 1 year but, i have ad some go 2 and a half so far. most herbs will grow in pots or in the ground as long as you have good water retention. think about putting some mulch around the base. i do that for potted plants as well. i would not try to look at the roots, it could disturb them from growing. do you fertilize them ? i use urine (my own pee) 1 part urine, to 5 or 10 or 20 parts water i usually go with 1/8 to 1/10 urine is high in nitrogen, and has P + K, and other micronutes as well

Thank you all for trying. I am including a picture. The idea is for the plants to sit on the stones in the trough by the window. The depth from the edge of the counter to the trough is 42". The trough is about 11". The stones will be approximately the same level as the counter so I will try to slide the pots from one to the other. The counter is so deep we use a remote control to open the windows. I have a grabber or two but they don't open large enough for or handle the weight of the pots. I can climb on the counter but I want a better solution than that. I'm thinking of using a flat shallow or edgeless pan with cork on the bottom (to protect the counter) so I can use a pizza peel to slide the herb pots onto the pan and then pull the pan towards me. While this may work, it is certainly less than ideal which is why I'm reaching out to the creative minds here for ideas.

benjesbride, one reason for rotating the shower and running it the width of the exterior wall would be to get rid of the existing half wall, which now creates a large dark area by the vanity. If I rotate the shower, I was thinking about putting both the shower head and the controls on the left hand wall. Stepping into the shower to turn on the water is not a big issue and I don't like the idea of having the shower head and the controls on separate walls. cpartist, thanks for the tip on the sliding glass doors. They certainly have changed over the last 25 years! I understand your point about a shower bench. Maybe a footrest or a couple of curved corner shelves would add a little bit of decor to that end of the shower, even though I doubt the spray from the shower head would reach that far. One question: How wide was the curb on your 3' x 6' shower?