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Autumn is the perfect time to make some compost and turn all those spent plants you’re clearing out of the veg garden into lovely crumbly organic matter that’s the best soil improver there is.

Colours this late in the season are look-at-me bright: a last ditch flourish to remind you how fabulous a plant can look before you sink into the sepia tones of winter. Solidago is one of the flashiest of them all, a fireworks explosion of yellow that erupts from a hot-coloured exotic border like so many rockets.

Lift and store dahlia tubers as soon as the frost blackens the stems. In milder areas with free-draining soil, you can risk leaving them outdoors over winter, as dahlias can cope with a little frost.

Gardeners across Ireland are harvesting their prize pumpkins ready for carving as the annual autumn festivities begin!

Plant a grapevine now in a sunny spot and you can make the most of the warm soil and damp weather to settle it in beautifully by next spring when it bursts into growth again. Growing grapes is becoming hugely popular these days, as the summers get warmer and last longer. All they need is a sheltered spot, ideally against a wall to hold in the warmth, or failing that a greenhouse to make sure those luscious fruits ripen.