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23 November 2009
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how to be a gardener - The complete online guide

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Gardening
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Understand plants

Plant types

Annuals and biennials

Perennials and bedding plants

Woody plants

Evergreen and deciduous plants

Bulbs

Climbers

Plant names

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Go further

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Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

Module 5

Module 6

Module 7

Module 8

2 - Plant types

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Evergreen plants

The word 'evergreen' is self-explanatory. They're the plants that have leaves all year round. Note that they do lose leaves sporadically throughout the year (look under a holly tree!). This gazania (pictured) is an evergreen perennial - often grown as an annual.
Deciduous plants
Deciduous plants look bare in winter, put out new leaves every spring and then drop them in autumn. Some plants have a spectacular show of autumn leaf colour as their leaves die, such as Japanese maples, witch hazel and red oak.
However, there are exceptions!
Semi-evergreen
Plants such as Cotoneaster horizontalis and Hydrangea quercifolia , are ditherers - they drop their leaves in cold winters but keep them if it is mild. Beech and hornbeam hedges retain their old dead leaves until the following spring.

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2. Understand plants

Introduction
Plant types
  Annuals and biennials
  Perennials and bedding plants
  Woody plants
  Evergreen and deciduous plants
  Bulbs
  Climbers
Plant names
Test your knowledge
Go further


Highlights

Plant lists

Plant lists

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Find thousands more plants in the BBC Gardening database .


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