Different Kinds of Plants

Most plants can be classified as one of three types including annual, biennial or perennial. Annuals live out their entire life cycle in a single season and need to be replenished or replaced every year, unless they are able to self-sow. Some seeds don't need to be covered by soil in order to germinate, they can become quite invasive. If these plants are hybrids, unless they've been open-pollinated for some generations, their offspring won't breed true.

Biennials take two seasons to complete their full life cycle and typically don't bloom until the second year. These would include such well-known plants as parsley, carrot and celery. It's not uncommon for these plants to be grown as annuals, except to encourage seed production. Perennial plants live longer than two seasons, up to centuries in some cases, such as with giant sequoia or redwood trees. Many perennials act as annuals outside of their normal geographic and climatic zones. Often, perennials become crowded after three to five years in the same spot and need to be thinned in order to maintain vigor. This is an excellent and inexpensive way of increasing the number of these plants in your home garden.

Most gardens contain a combination of these plants to maintain balance. Perennials return every year, but typically only blossom for two or three weeks. Annuals have to be replaced every year, but provide a burst of colorful bloom that can last for most of the season. By combining these two types of plants, a gardener can change the look of their garden year after year without having to go to the trouble and expense of replacing entire beds.