When it all goes to pot, turn to pots

Can you suggest an autumn gardening project please? – Laura Freedman, Lincoln DAVID: Despite the gloomy weather, lots of plants still have beauty at this time of year – and pots are great when beds are waterlogged.

So why not create a container garden? For flowers, go for pansies or chrysanthemums. For foliage, trailing ivy or conifers. And for fruiting plants, gaultheria.

Use the biggest container you can get your hands on for maximum impact, as well as for moisture retention. role in cancer prevention. So what better excuse can there be to tuck into a bowl of pumpkin soup?

As well as providing your body with all its Vitamin A needs, one cup of cooked pumpkin will give more potassium than a banana.

And if you eat the seeds too you could be helping to reduce your cholesterol.

But of course it’s not just healthy and delicious snacks I’m interested in – the pumpkin seeds out of your jack o’lantern can also be planted in your garden, allowing you to grow more pumpkins for next year.

They’ll look fantastic in your veg patch when autumn rolls around, and you’ll be able to reap the nutritional benefits by cooking up lots of lovely soups, tarts and other treats with your home-grown pumpkins.

Not to mention the satisfaction of plucking a pumpkin from your own garden to carve on Halloween.

So, how can you go about growing them yourself ?

Thankfully with the British climate it’s relatively easy in our gardens – as long as you have a spacious sunny patch for them to grow in.

Here’s a quick and simple guide to growing your own pumpkins – you’ll be all set to see your own face light up for Halloween next year:

You’ll want a good handful of seeds. Use the seeds that you scooped out of your own pumpkin this year. Simply wash the biggest ones to get rid of the gunk and dry them out in an airing cupboard. Store your