Alan Titchmarsh has shared a simple "rule of three" to help brighten up a bare corner of the garden or patio. With many gardeners taking advantage of warm weather, the horticulturist demonstrated how a trio of pots can transform an empty space into an eye-catching feature.
In a video for his YouTube channel "Gardening With Alan Titchmarsh", he explained that there is something attractive about trios in a garden. "Psychologists will tell you exactly why. I can't, except to say that I like them," he said, as he presented three pots of varying sizes.
The smallest pot contained white-flowered pendulous begonias, the middle featured a Chartwell lily, and the largest was planted with Crazy Love dahlias. Titchmarsh noted that the plants would reach different heights, providing variation in both colour and size, and that separate pots allow each display to be seen more clearly.
His planting advice included placing begonia bulbs half an inch to one inch below the soil surface. For lilies, he recommended four evenly spaced bulbs in half a pot of compost before topping up. Dahlias were tucked just beneath the surface with last year's stalk left protruding.
Positioning the largest pot at the back, the middle one slightly to its right, and the smallest to the left, he watered them all. He added: "So now, from across the garden, you'll see the bench and in front of it dahlias up here, lilies a bit lower and then the begonias down at the front."
