The Difference Between Annual and Perennial Plants

What is an annual?
All plants have a life cycle, spanning from when a seed sprouts to when the plant dies. When a plant is described as an annual, that means that it grows from seed, flowers, makes more seeds, and dies all within a single year. You can save seeds to replant later. 
Annuals are relatively inexpensive compared to perennials. They give you a lot of flower power for your money and many bloom almost constantly until winter. Most are low-maintenance, self-cleaning plants, which means they drop their flowers naturally when the blooms finish. When annuals die, all you need to do is pull them up and compost them.
What is a perennial?
Perennials live for more than one season. Unlike annuals, perennial plants go dormant in the winter and return the following year. Some perennial plants, like peonies, can be very long-lived. Different perennial plants bloom at different times of the year, so you might get flowers in the spring, summer, fall, or even the winter in some cases. However, you usually won't have flowers throughout the entire growing season. Perennials don't re-bloom as often as annuals, either. Perennial roots can survive the winter where they are hardy. 
Thanks to BH & G for the inspiration.