Pumpkins and autumnal things.

Pumpkins and autumnal things.

Orange on gold: plump pumpkins sitting on straw bales under a grey sky. A chilly morning with a fresh breeze stirring fallen leaves. Storm Austen followed by storm Boelo have raged and gone. Up in the oak tree jays move furtively around the branches plucking chubby acorns as grey squirrels race around its trunk. We are in the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”. By the staff entrance to the Garden Centre haws on the hawthorn burn scarlet against a pewter sky, like ruby beads of sealing wax. Does anyone know what sealing wax is? That ages me.

Bonfire night was the big autumnal event when I was growing up. Halloween was not on our radar; it only existed in American films. In my mind’s eye I see two brothers sat outside Bounds Green tube station with a life-size effigy made from old clothes stuffed with scrunched-up newspapers, the face a painted mask, topped off with our grandad’s flat cap, “penny for the Guy!” The only nod to Halloween was apple bobbing as Cub Scouts.

“Halloween is just a commercial invention imported from the United States”; mother’s breezy dismissal of pumpkins and trick-or-treating. It is too easy to have a closed mind, not to modify your outlook as you advance from youth to middle age.

But Halloween is no Johnny-come-lately. The festival has ancient roots. Its origins can be traced back over two thousand years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, where people lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off ghosts.

Over time November 1 became All Saints’ Day, a Christian holy day celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church. By the ninth century, churches in the British Isles had begun commemorating the day. Hence, October 31 became All Saints’ Eve also known as All Hallows’ Eve, or simply Halloween.

Irish and Scottish immigrants took these ancient customs with them to North America in the nineteenth century. In the United States, old practices like carving turnips evolved. Because native pumpkins were large and abundant (and considerably easier to carve) they replaced turnips for making jack-o’-lanterns.

Who was Jack? It is believed that the custom of making jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween could have originated with ancient Celtic head veneration practices. Warriors would take the severed heads of defeated foes and display them for spiritual protection. Some historians say that this practice later became replaced by heads carved from root vegetables to represent Christian souls in purgatory during All Hallows’ Eve.

Thus, all we have done is re-imported old customs, along with a modern commercialised version of Halloween. I can remember pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and spooky decorations gradually becoming popular in London during the 1980s.

So, step forward to this year when three of our garden centres, Alexandra Palace, Sherfield-on-Loddon, and Woods of Berkhamsted, are hosting Pumpkin Patches.

The spooky decorations went up; straw bales and pumpkins were decoratively arranged. And then we opened to the public. On launch day at Alexandra Palace Garden Centre the sun was shining, the plant area was wearing its autumnal finery, and everyone was smiling. Wandering along the paths the children could follow a scavenger Hunt to win a Halloween treat, take part in a colouring competition with amazing prizes, play the family hoopla game, and choose the perfect pumpkin to take home and carve. The sound of happy children filled the garden centre. And at last, I understood the allure of Halloween.

Things to do:

Visit your local pumpkin patch.

This year Halloween occurs on Saturday. So, there are still a couple of days left before the big celebration. However, you will need to act quickly and book your tickets online if you want to treat your kids to a memorable autumn event. And if you are uncertain about whether to make the effort, remember Halloween won’t fall on a Saturday again until 2037! https://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/events/

Carve a pumpkin.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-carve-pumpkin

Learn about pumpkins.

https://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/blog/smashing-pumpkins/

Cook Nigel Slater’s tasty pumpkin and lentil stew. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/03/nigel-slater-lentil-pumpkin-soup-stew-baked-figs-recipes