Thanks for the responses - I may sound a bit dense, but as I've only been
living in England for 4 years I'm not too sure about the wheres & whats of
gardening here, so all help & advice is appreciated.

Thanks for the tip about the worms Shan. We recently dug a new flower bed &
had to dig deep as there were lots of stones to remove & I only saw
earthworms so *maybe* we don't have them? But I will certainly be on the
lookout for little red worms in the future.

Nick - I'd like to try sweetcorn - would I be better off digging a sunny
patch just for them? And I've read that you can grow pumpkins on a compost
heap? Our compost heap is in a corner of the garden which faces south - any
thoughts on that?
I tried tomatoes in pots on the patio last summer & although they did get
fruit most of them didn't ripen so I think they'd be better in a greenhouse
(which I don't have) - I'm used to being able to grow them in the garden
along with peppers, aubergine, lemon trees etc.

All the best,
Jayne