Planning for Spring Gardening

Without a greenhouse, I find that winter is high time for planning spring gardening. I'll be planting a new garden this spring and visions of perrenials dance in my head, from rosemary to thyme, and of course lavender. All of my research tells me that sowing seeds of lavender will most likely result in an ununiform look. Propagating from cuttings seems to be the best way, but I have a feeling my impatience will result in purchasing small pots. Propagating from cuttings would also mean I would have to wait until fall to place them in the ground. Speaking of the ground, I see Rosemary Prostratus and Thyme along walkways for ground cover, and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to plant some cuttings from a rosebush that has been in our family for at least 3 generations.