Deciduous – Plants that shed their leaves at the end of one growing season and renew them at the beginning of the next.

Evergreen – Plants that retain their foliage for more than one growing season.

Annual – A plant that completes its life cycle (germination, flowering, seeding and dying) in one year.

Herbaceous – A non-woody plant in which the upper parts of the plant die down to rootstock at the end of the growing season. Mainly perennials.

Alpine – A plant that originally grows above the tree line in mountainous areas. Can be applied to rock garden plants that can with stand low temperatures.

Perennial – Any plant living for at least 3 seasons. Commonly applied to herbaceous plants and woody perennials like trees and shrubs.

Climbing – Plants that climb using either other plants or objects for support, (i.e. a self clinger climbs by means of suckering pads that will stick to a wall or trellis to support its self.)

Hardy – Plants that are able to withstand year round climate conditions, including frost, without protection.

Shrub – A woody stemmed plant usually branching out from the base, lacking a single trunk.

Ericaceous – Acid loving plants, often evergreen, like a soil with a pH of around 6.5 or less. Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias are all in this category. You can buy inexpensive soil testing kits to determine the pH of you soil.

Alkaline – These plants are lime lovers, they like soil to have a pH of more that 7. Heucheras and Hebes like this type of soil.

Variegated – Plants that have foliage with various colours in irregular patterns.