Planning ahead and need some advice.

I have a small ground level balcony and a little bit of land near my apartment. To be specific, the land covers the space of 3 15 gallon rubbermaid totes linked side by side by side. I live in the Midwest US, where the grow season runs from Late April to Late September/Early October, weather tends to be unpredictable and brutal during summer, and temperatures range from the 70s to the early 100s. My garden area tends to get full sun from about 8am to between 2 and 3pm, where its somewhat shady from then on.

I am absolutely divided on what to grow. Last year I grew sage, peppermint, bird eye chili peppers, collander basil, lavender, coleus, basically whatever was on sale and looked interesting at the time. This year I want to have a functional garden, but I have no idea what to put in it. I like to use fresh herbs for cooking and medicine, as well as fresh vegetables and fruit, and I absolutely adore aromatic flowers. What sort of things would you suggest for a space as limited as mine?

Tomatoes in one of them. Be sure to cage early. So many varieties. Tomatoes have zero flavor from a grocery store as most are hydro-grown, grown anywhere but the US and picked/shipped green and then gassed to "ripen" them up. Choose heritage strains is my suggestion.

Basil, Mint, Lemon Balm, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Lettuce, Tomattos, Bell Peppers and or hot peppers, beans, sweet potatoes, straw berries, black berries, carrots, cucumbers and few other things is what I would look at buying for my garden.