Early Start to Spring 2002

My question is that I have been growing herbs for a long time. The usual, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, mint, oregano, etc. I live in NY and my Herbs from last summer never died (perhaps not an appropriate word) but then are still living and growing ever so more. I used up all the basil but the oregano and mint and rosemary kept growing and now they are like they should be in the summer. Is this a normal process because of the unusual weather we have had? It is totally amazing. You should see my garden. I cannot believe it nor can my friends.

The winter of 2001-2002 was unusually mild in North America so it is not surprising that your herbs survived. Even herbs such as parsley and rosemary which are not reliably hardy in the northeastern U.S. and Canada will get through the kind of mild winter we had. The spring has been mild also so overwintering herbs are coming back sooner than usual. All it takes is for spring to arrive a week or two earlier to see a big difference in the size of the plants now [late April].
Parsley is a biennial and it will go to flower in its second season. That means that the plant will not produce many leaves and will instead devote its energy toward flowering and setting seeds. You will be able to harvest some fresh leaves but you may want to plant some new parsley plants this year for midsummer and fall harvest.
No doubt the other herbs will produce a bumper crop of fresh and dried herbs this year!