I suggest that you visit your local library and browse through the dozens of books on herbs they're likely to have. Take a note-book with you, or photocopy relevant pages. It's a good try-before-you-buy place to go.

There are also hundreds, if not thousands, of websites with the sort of basic information you need - though not all will tell you which parts of the plant are used.

For the most commonly-used culinary herbs, like oregano, rosemary, basil, chives, coriander, parsley, sage, bay, thyme, mint - it's the leaves which are used. The flowers of all of these are also edible.

Commonly used seeds are: pepper, sesame, fenugreek, coriander, dill, fennel.

Commonly used roots are: ginger, turmeric, arrowroot.

Do NOT assume that because one part of the plant is edible, all parts of the same plant are edible! When in doubt, ASK.

Below are some websites you could look at - I picked them at random after a google search for 'herb uses cooking' (I had a choice of 4,830,000 sites!):

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/kitchenherbgarden.htm

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/fresh-herbs-cooking-guide

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A505513

http://www.yankeeharvest.com/spice_mill/yhspgloss.html

Here is a link that might be useful: basic herbs

Your local library will have "beginner" books. Go and see what books you like. The "beginner" books all contain much the same info but are formatted differently. See what format or book appeals to you. Buy a copy (used saves oodles of cash!) if you really like it!

FataMorgana

OK. I'll do that. Thanks to both of you. And thanks for the info and links daisy.

Thanks for the encouragement. :)