I want to have some cilantro, parsley, and basil plants. I am wondering if I can just plant them in my backyard landscape? We have a combo of flowers and bushes and live in Southern CA in a temperate and sunny climate. The flowers we have I'm not sure what they are...looks like some roses, bougainvillea, maybe carnations, and some other tropical looking ones. I'm not a gardener, obviously. We rent our home and this is what is planted in the back. There is also a Meyer lemon tree and a Kumquat tree. There is a sprinkler irrigation system in place. The area gets about 6-10 hours of daily sunlight.

So can I just buy some live herbs and plant them between the flower plants? Or should I leave them in pots? We do have mice that come by at night (field mice). Their droppings are around. So maybe I should elevate the plants or will they not really be a problem? Our house is a new build on former farm land so we expect the mice to hang around for a little while until they relocate.

Any advice? I use a lot of herbs in my cooking and it is a pain to keep having to buy them fresh.