Alan Titchmarsh's simple 'power of three' trick is perfect for brightening up any dull patio

Waste not, want not, as the saying goes. Only this time we’re talking about wasted space, or rather, how to avoid having bare corners or tight spots you don’t know what to do with.

Whether you’re following the style secrets of the quiet luxury trend or thinking of sprucing up your space with some of the best trends from this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, nothing can ruin your dream aesthetic quite like dead space.

Thankfully, Alan Titchmarsh – who has recently downsized himself and has started sharing brilliant tips for small-space gardening and how to make the most out of every inch of your garden. He has shared the simplest tip for introducing a layered, intentional-looking bit of summer colour that doesn’t require much effort.

Alan's 'power of three' pot trick

Rather than rethinking your entire garden or struggling to grow things from a tight corner, Alan shared that all you need is the power of three. Three different sized pots to grow a layered trio of colourful and seasonal plants.

In a clip posted to his social media, he explained, "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."

"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."

In Alan’s case, he goes with three distinct summer flowering bulbs – a white-flowered begonia, lilies and dahlias. You can choose your own selection of summer plants, like Gladioli or Pelargoniums - but the key lesson from Alan is to choose three that will give you variety.

With the begonias and lilies, Alan explains there’ll be "a variation in size and a colour variation", meaning your previously unused corner space or patio will look well thought out and designed so that each plant stands out.

This is the other reason for planting them in three separate pots. As Alan shared, "I could put them all together in the big pot, but the dahlias, with all their foliage and heavy flowers, would overwhelm both the lilies and the begonias.

"I'd rather grow them as three individual plants, in effect. Position them together so that I can give them the space to grow, and also to see them better than if they're all crammed into the one pot, which is why I'm using the power of three."

Once you've decked out your patio or corners with a pop of vibrant summer flowers, make sure you're getting the most out of your cultivated space - lighting can make small patios look bigger, giving you more reason to spend those summer evenings sitting outside, soaking it all in.