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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.
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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.
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However, there are exceptions!
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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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