Is late August or September the traditional planting season for New Jersey? Besides this not being a "landscape design" question, there are a few hints in your paragraph that you are new to gardening. I suggest you visit your local nursery for regional advice about when to plant what sorts of vegetables.

Where I live, the zucchini are a summer crop, thus my question about the timing. Have you considered edible flowers such as nasturtium or viola? Very easy from seed, but again, not usually planted in August or September here.

Aug/Sept is a "bit" late in the season to be starting a garden even in southern New Jersey... unless you're doing a cover crop like alfalfa or winter rye. Or unless you're just getting a space planned out and ideas readied for planting in the spring of 2012.

Look at the Potager Gardens forum for help on herb, vegetable and flower gardens.

Also check the web sites for Rutgers Univ - NJAES (New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station).

Many kinds of thyme (perhaps all; I'm not an expert) will live through the winter in 7a. Some hardy rosemaries will as well (though I see some die-back here). I have planted both in the later summer, and had most of those survive the winter. I have also had good luck with lavender surviving the winter, though they were planted in the spring (and experienced some die-back).

I have a mostly-perennial bed where I use very short mugo pines, heath (similar to heather), and some herbs as winter greenery.

My favorite of the thymes is German winter thyme, though I also have plain German thyme. The former I bought at a plant sale, and the latter were from Bonnie's Plants (a major supplier to Big Box stores). GWT has much rounder leaves, is only a few inches tall, and is trying to take over the bed; GT has thinner leaves and is upright, reaching 8-10" here. Both have tiny, palest lavender-pink flowers. GWT is probably difficult to locate, though seeds are listed by these vendors: Johnny's Selected Seeds, Horizon Herbs, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Vesey's, and Seeds of Change. Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion as to which type of thyme is which; some people feel GWT and GT are the same; some say that GWT is the same as English thyme.

There are also evergreen ground-hugging creeping thymes, which flower in white, red, and lavender/pink. I have at least three types which stay green all year here.