Alan Titchmarsh has revealed a lesser-known "rule of three" that could transform a "bare corner" of your garden or patio. With gardeners likely venturing outdoors to capitalise on the bank holiday heatwave, creating an eye-catching summer display is likely top of their agenda.
The Rule of Three Explained
Help may be available, as the Gardeners' World favourite has offered a series of handy tips in a recent YouTube video demonstrating how to achieve the "perfect summer bulb display". Opening the video for his YouTube channel, Gardening With Alan Titchmarsh, he said: "If you want to brighten up a bare corner of your garden or your patio, then a simple way to do it is with pots of summer-flowering bulbs."
In the following scene, Alan was shown kneeling on his patio flagstones alongside three plant pots of varying sizes. Alan clarified that the number three held particular importance and linked to a specific "rule". He continued: "But it's sort of uneventful at the moment, but with three pots placed here with different heights and spectacles of flower in them, suddenly it will transform it into a focal point. Now, I want to talk to you about the rule of three. There is something instantly attractive about trios in a garden, about triangles, about groups of three. Psychologists will tell you exactly why. I can't, except to say that I like them."
Choosing the Right Plants
Alan revealed that the smaller pots' summer-flowering bulbs would be white-flowered pendulous begonias. For the middle pot, he chose the "cracking" Chartwell lily, while the largest of the three would be home to Crazy Love dahlias. He explained that the flowers would reach varying heights, providing "variation" in both colour and size. Alan also pointed out that by growing them in separate pots, you'll be able to "see them better".
Planting Tips
Alan then set about preparing his pots, having filled them with compost. He planted his begonia bulbs about half an inch to one inch below the surface of the soil, ensuring the stem bases could "root from the bottom". For the lilies, Alan went with four evenly spaced bulbs, advising that just half a pot of compost be used for planting before topping up the container with peat-free compost. Finally, Alan tucked three dahlia tubers into the larger pot, using his hand as a makeshift trowel. This time, the pot was completely full, and he positioned them just beneath the soil surface, leaving only a small protrusion — last year's stalk — visible above the compost.
He said: "So, there we have it. Three pots, proving the rule of three. Well, they will when I put them in the right formation." Alan positioned the largest pot at the back, the middle pot slightly to its right and the smallest pot to the left of the middle one, before watering them all with his garden hose. 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. And then we end up with a nice place to sit and watch your potted garden grow."
