I turned onto the bypass but as I approached Higham, once more the heavens opened and so on went the windscreen wipers for a very wet remainder of the journey home.

It is very difficult to avoid mentioning the weather when the seemingly endless rains have been such a dominant characteristic of the great British summer of 2008. Every week there seems to be something.

Two weeks ago, we had over 100 flood warnings in force from the Environment Agency with seven "severe" flood warnings.

This week, that same agency was announcing the returning of farmland at Tarleton, near the confluence of the rivers Ribble and Douglas to flood plain. This involved allowing the flood defences to be breached and returning the land to the status of salt marsh. More locally, the wet weather delayed the opening of Pendle Vale school in Nelson. The fact is, the poor weather has impacted on our lives.

So, will it ever end? Well, of course it will. I suspect, however, even the Met Office is becoming concerned. If rain is the norm then it ceases to be news or make forecasting have any point whatsoever.

I was amused, therefore, to see the forecast on breakfast telly presented by the fantastic, smiley Carol, telling us not to expect sunshine, or showers, or rain or even for the skies to be dull and overcast but, as she pointed at a vast swathe of cloud over the entire country, the forecast was for a new weather category ..."Limited Sunshine". Certainly, a new way of presenting an upbeat, optimistic slant on the usual dismal weather. Is this meteorological spin?

I thought, therefore, it was time for me to put a positive slant on seasonal gardening. Instead of moaning about the waterlogged lawn making access and maintenance near impossible, I like to think of us having been spared the problems associated with drought conditions, indeed, you might say the moss is progressing well. In fact, so well, it is threatening to evict grasses from the lawn altogether, making lawn mowing a thing of the past.

Fallen leaves and bits of debris, which normally require sweeping up, no longer pose much of a problem.

This year we have been helped by the generous rainfall which washes all this leaf litter straight to the grates where it can be easily gathered up, cutting down on sweeping up generally. What could be simpler?

We have been spared the onerous task of watering patio tubs and hanging baskets as torrential rains have rendered this unnecessary. Only the greenhouse has required attention, and even here, the low sunlight levels have meant the tomatoes have been drinking much less water so cutting down on watering. Not only that, by staying resolutely green, the tomatoes have not required picking, once more, cutting down on the tedious task of harvesting.

Unfortunately, this happy nonsense is not what we gardeners want. We want to get out there and smarten the place up, snipping here, tweaking there. We want to enjoy the process of nurturing plants and watching things grow. A few hours in the garden, revives our spirits and the results of our labours fill us with a sense of pride and fulfilment. That is why I am braving the elements and planting autumn and winter colour now.

Make a start by, pulling out the horrible damped-off petunias, geraniums and mildew blasted impatiens and consigning them to the compost heap or green waste bin. Replace them with winter bedding plants.

Top of the list are winter-flowering pansies, which, flowering for months, are a key ingredient in our planting schemes. I plant loads of them at home. They are, however, only part of the story.

Dwarf conifers, japanese azaleas, trailing ivy and glossy-leaved euonymus all provide near certain winter colour simply by being evergreen.

They are low maintenance, too. Mix in an odd coloured heather, and the contrast of foliage colour and form provides winter colour without there being a flower in site. Next, drop in the odd winter herb plant such as purple sage or lemon-scented thyme, or perhaps a bit of evergreen ornamental grass and you are well on your way to creating an attractive pot full of plants.

Even using brightly-coloured pots helps give a bit of a colour lift. If they are old pots give them a bit of a makeover, washing any old mossy or green deposits off. Above all, make them stand out from their surroundings and brighten the place up a bit. I like to group pots of different sizes in threes forming something of a focal point.

We are now, halfway through the bulb-planting season. While not exactly winter colour, it is these bulbs which provide the backbone to our spring displays.

They are old familiar friends ... crocus, miniature daffs, hyacinths and tulips. Collectively, they can provide colour spanning around 100 days, and so more than earn their keep. They are an essential ingredient in any garden.

Not only that, they soon start to grow and push through the surface of the compost in our containers. Even though not in flower, there is something heartening about seeing the tips of the bulbs just emerging through the compost in the depths of winter. They seem to epitomise a sense of good things still to come, of hope and renewal ... of the lengthening days of spring. So make sure you plant bulbs now!

Anyway, as the golden days of autumn approach, the weather often picks up making it a lovely time to get out in the garden, brush the spiders off the unused patio furniture and do some gardening.

Cooler nights often lead to clearer skies, autumn sunshine and surprisingly pleasant weather. I can't promise you wall-to-wall sunshine, but perhaps I will stick my neck out and forecast "limited rain", after all it has to stop raining at some point ... surely!