What is the Difference Between Accent and Specimen Plants?

What is the Difference Between Accent and Specimen Plants?
If you’re new to home improvement blogs and gardening blogs, the terms accent and specimen plants might be something for new gardeners to get stuck on. Accent and specimen plants are decorative terms, referring to the way plants are used when designing an aesthetically pleasing garden space – and where you might want the focus to fall. What’s the difference between accent vs. specimen plants, and how can you put these to better use in your garden?

Accent vs. Specimen Plants: What’s the Difference?

Here’s how to tell accent vs. specimen plants apart.

Accent Plants

Accent plants are used to accentuate the features of the garden. That’s the easiest way to remember this term, and what accent plants might be used for. An accent plant is your centerpiece – and it’s what you want the focus to fall on.
If your garden were a team, this would be their leader – standing at the front lines, tall and proud, often commanding what’s around them. Sure, that’s a strange way to think about your garden, but it illustrates how accent plants work.
Trees and larger shrubs are often used for accent plants. Other plants can never overshadow the accent plant, and must never overgrow – but instead, complement what you’ve put there already.

Specimen Plants

A specimen plant is a complementary plant(s) that goes well with the accent plant.
Specimen plants include everything standing around your accent plant and don’t have to be a direct companion plant. Specimen plants are often smaller trees or shrubs that stand alongside your centerpiece garden – although there’s a huge amount of creativity available when it comes to what plants to stick in there.

Getting to Know Accent and Specimen Plants

Accent plants should make a good middlepoint, with some consideration for the water and sunlight requirements of the main plant. Build on the good qualities of your location and accent plant, and choose good specimen plants that thrive under the same conditions.
Sometimes specimen plants can be used to make a nice border alongside the garden, or smaller pockets of the garden that accentuate the accent plant.
While it sounds complicated, getting to know accent and specimen plants is actually pretty easy.

Using Accent and Specimen Plants

One of the most common mistakes that people make when using specimen plants is not leaving them enough room to flourish. If you choose a very robustly rooted accent plant, leave enough space for your specimen plants to flourish on their own – which sometimes leaves a larger radius than novice gardeners might expect.

Shades… Of Plants!

When choosing accent and specimen plants, another important thing for gardeners to think about is the flowering time of the plants you have chosen. Plants should have conditions that are the same (or similar), and characteristic aspects of plants such as flowering should always be taken into account.
Specimen plants should always complement the specimen plants. It can be a good idea to choose a garden with plants that flower at the same time just to enhance that amazing effect you’re looking to create.

SOLMAUNA Creations & Landscaping Designs in Colorado

Our team of landscape designers brings a unique combination of landscape architecture education paired with extensive knowledge of plants to the table. Contact us today.

What is the Difference Between Accent and Specimen Plants?

What is the Difference Between Accent and Specimen Plants?
If you’re new to home improvement blogs and gardening blogs, the terms accent and specimen plants might be something for new gardeners to get stuck on. Accent and specimen plants are decorative terms, referring to the way plants are used when designing an aesthetically pleasing garden space – and where you might want the focus to fall. What’s the difference between accent vs. specimen plants, and how can you put these to better use in your garden?

Accent vs. Specimen Plants: What’s the Difference?

Here’s how to tell accent vs. specimen plants apart.

Accent Plants

Accent plants are used to accentuate the features of the garden. That’s the easiest way to remember this term, and what accent plants might be used for. An accent plant is your centerpiece – and it’s what you want the focus to fall on.
If your garden were a team, this would be their leader – standing at the front lines, tall and proud, often commanding what’s around them. Sure, that’s a strange way to think about your garden, but it illustrates how accent plants work.
Trees and larger shrubs are often used for accent plants. Other plants can never overshadow the accent plant, and must never overgrow – but instead, complement what you’ve put there already.

Specimen Plants

A specimen plant is a complementary plant(s) that goes well with the accent plant.
Specimen plants include everything standing around your accent plant and don’t have to be a direct companion plant. Specimen plants are often smaller trees or shrubs that stand alongside your centerpiece garden – although there’s a huge amount of creativity available when it comes to what plants to stick in there.

Getting to Know Accent and Specimen Plants

Accent plants should make a good middlepoint, with some consideration for the water and sunlight requirements of the main plant. Build on the good qualities of your location and accent plant, and choose good specimen plants that thrive under the same conditions.
Sometimes specimen plants can be used to make a nice border alongside the garden, or smaller pockets of the garden that accentuate the accent plant.
While it sounds complicated, getting to know accent and specimen plants is actually pretty easy.

Using Accent and Specimen Plants

One of the most common mistakes that people make when using specimen plants is not leaving them enough room to flourish. If you choose a very robustly rooted accent plant, leave enough space for your specimen plants to flourish on their own – which sometimes leaves a larger radius than novice gardeners might expect.

Shades… Of Plants!

When choosing accent and specimen plants, another important thing for gardeners to think about is the flowering time of the plants you have chosen. Plants should have conditions that are the same (or similar), and characteristic aspects of plants such as flowering should always be taken into account.
Specimen plants should always complement the specimen plants. It can be a good idea to choose a garden with plants that flower at the same time just to enhance that amazing effect you’re looking to create.

SOLMAUNA Creations & Landscaping Designs in Colorado

Our team of landscape designers brings a unique combination of landscape architecture education paired with extensive knowledge of plants to the table. Contact us today.