With one exception, which was trimming our bushes, I loved to garden with my parents when I was growing up. My father and I raised vegetables together, while I helped my mother with the flowers. We never grew any perennials -- only standard annuals like marigolds, pansies, impatiens, portulaca (rose moss) and begonias. As a grew, I became more interested in perennials. I planted my first perennial garden at my parents' new house and made a point not to place any annuals in the garden. A year later, my parents built a porch where the garden was located. By that point, my mother had become more interested in perennials and started incorporating more of them in her landscape.

If you are interested in flowers but have not done too much gardening, you probably have heard these two terms -- annuals and perennials -- quite a bit. And you are probably wondering where to start. First, learn about the difference between annuals and perennials:

ANNUALS

An annual plant is one that grows from a seed, blooms, and at the end of the gardening season dies. This means that if you plant a small marigold garden by your gate, those plants have finished their job and will not grow back next spring.

So why would you go through all the work of planting a flower that you have to replant the following year?

There are many reasons to grow annuals. First, most annuals are already in bloom when purchased. This makes it easy to visualize the appearance of garden with that plant's addition. In addition, many annuals continue to bloom and grow throughout the entire growing season if the spent blossoms are removed. Generally speaking, annuals are versatile, bright and predictable flowers. They typically are not expensive to buy as a transplant or can be started by seed without an extensive germination or growing time.

PERENNIALS

Perennials are flowers that return year after year by growing back from their dormant rootstock each spring, as long as they are adapted to our hardiness zone (zone 4 for the lake-shore area and zone 3 for the higher elevations). Perennials typically have a shorter, specific bloom time such as early spring, summer or fall. They come in a wide range of growth habits -- from low, creeping plants to strong, tower plants that can reach four feet tall. Perennials initially cost more than annuals to purchase, but since you do not have to buy them year after year, their cost can be considered an investment. With consideration to growth habit, blooming period and zone hardiness, perennials offer the gardener the ability to create a lower maintenance landscape.

MIXING IT UP

These days, I am not a separatist. I mix annuals in my perennial beds to add a splash of season-long color. This is especially helpful for me, since my beds are only two years old, and I have space to fill as my perennials are still becoming established. I also greatly enjoy the look of planters on porches, windowsills and patios filled with brightly colored annuals. When it comes to annuals versus perennials, there is no right or wrong, just personal taste. You can choose to mix your annuals in with your perennials or keep them separate -- just don't buy an annual and expect to see it next year or plant a perennial and expect it to disappear this winter!

CONTAINER GARDENING

If you would like to learn more about making those colorful planters, come to my container gardening class this Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This workshop will explore how to choose the right flowers, vegetables and fruit for container growing, how to create interesting, beautiful displays and caring for container gardens. The class will be at the Plattsburgh Extension Office with a fee of $15 that includes all printed materials. And a few lucky participants will be taking the demonstration gardens home with them. Pre-registration is required since space is limited -- call 561-7450.

Anne Lenox Barlow is the horticulture educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County 561-7450, Essex County 962-4810, Franklin County 483-7403. E-mail questions to: askMG@cornell.edu.