Gardening clothes – what to ask for!

What do you wear when you head out to the garden? If only our hobby was like fishing or cycling with a ‘go to’ uniform, we’d know far better what to put on our Christmas list, although frankly The3Growbags in skin-tight lycra? 🫣

That said, the floral, floaty outfits often favoured by Gardener’s World presenters like Frances Tophill simply wouldn’t work for us either. Here’s what we like:

It’s hard to resist a cosy beanie hat keeping your ears snug when the north wind doth blow, but what happens when it swings to the west and the rain sets in? 

It’s why I love a wide-brimmed waterproof hat.  Hoods are all very well and they do stop the rain from trickling down your neck, but as soon as you turn your head, all you’re looking at is the inside of the hood!  Much better to have a well-fitting brimmed hat and swagger round your borders in the drizzle in the manner of a horticultural cowboy.

It’s very rare that I don’t wear gloves when I’m gardening, and I’m very tough on them. I have a large array of them – thin ones for delicate work like seedling-thinning, thick gauntlets for clearing brambles or pruning large fierce roses, and lots that are more ‘in-between’.  There is a problem with lots of gloves – once they get wet and muddy (let us remember that we ARE talking about the UK!), they go rock-hard and are very difficult and uncomfortable to wear until they get wet again.  My Burgon & Ball ones don’t have this annoying habit – hooray! – and I love ‘em to bits. 

I appealed to our head of fulfilment (Laura) to see if she’d give me some free from our shop. Hurrumph, I still had to pay up (she’ll regret this when she asks for some cuttings) but OMG am I happy with them! We have some winter-weight ones in the shop at the moment – they look a bit different to the ones I’m wearing in the pic, but they still have the same wonderful ability to stay flexible.

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Elaine has dealt with extremities but what about the core? 

If you’re the remotest bit serious about gardening, you’ll need some proper hard-wearing technical trousers and I have now gone full ‘Genus’ with a pair for each season. Yes they are a bit pricey and yes I was kindly given a couple of pairs to trial by the company’s founder, but now I can’t contemplate tackling garden tasks without wearing them. As a starter pair the Genus ‘Everyday’ trousers would be a good choice.

To justify the expense of kitting out your lower half properly you can go cheap and cheerful with your tops and need only to visit your local supermarket where you can pick up sets of 3 pure cotton polo shirts for under a tenner in the school uniform section. Young people are often quite hefty nowadays (better fed, I dare say, than us post-war boomers) so the 14/15 year old size equates to a size 12 and as they are ‘educational’ they don’t attract VAT – result!

In winter you’ll need an additional layer and for digging and weeding this can be a snug fitting fleece. You won’t need a scarf, as you’ll be keeping warm by being physically active – remember the old maxim that if you’re warm enough when you step outside at 9.00 you’ll be too hot by 11.00. Zipped pockets are very important for making sure that your phone doesn’t fall out into the shrubbery.

For rose-pruning you’ll need to go heavy-duty. The outer layer will need to be a material that is thorn proof and won’t snag and an old waxed jacket is ideal. As well as proper gauntlets it’s best to wear some sort of headgear and although you’ll look ridiculous, something like a cycling helmet is a good shout. A pair of safety glasses would finish off this Personal Protection Equipment and keep you safe from thorn branches whipping around you. Caroline took my advice for once as you can see in the thumbnail below, but I have to say it was under duress….

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Yes, it’s not exactly Paris Fashion Week is it? The only designer I can see my sisters ‘walking for’ would be Worzel Gummidge. Mind you, since gardening combines pilates, weightlifting, arctic exploration and at times trench warfare, it’s a case of ‘handsome is as handsome does’ when getting properly down and dirty with your plants. 

Thankfully my tips for gardening footwear are practical AND attractive.

Socks – these become more important as you age. Ones that stay up at the expense of your leg’s blood flow are no good, neither are the ones that slip down in a puddle at the toe of your boots. Thick ones mean you have to wear boots one size up, and plain black ones from Tesco lack that sort of playful reward you need when you finally get to twiddle your feet on a pouffe at the end of the day.

We love the bee socks we chose for our shop (see the link at the bottom) but you get the idea – don’t be judged and found wanting by your body or other people in the socks department!

Boots –  Now those of you gardening on clay or anywhere on the west coast (I include dear Monty in rainy Herefordshire here) are going to champion wellies as your ‘go-to’ footwear. But unless you’re paying a fortune for the posh ones, wellies are cold and not particularly good for your feet.

Much better to opt for short boots – something like duck boots that combine a waterproof lower bit and nice flexy leather uppers.  They keep your feet dry, support those increasingly wobbly ankles; they’re warm and if you have to pop to the shops before closing time, they say ‘gardener’ rather than ‘weirdo hillbillie’ – although the latter would allow you to give a cheery wave to Laura or Elaine knowing you are (deep sigh) all of the same clan.

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Links to some of those clothing suggestions…

Here are links to some of the things we talked about. By becoming affiliates with tip-top suppliers like Genus and Thompson&Morgan (see above) we can pass on their sales and offers to you. We get a small commission but it does NOT affect the price you pay.

We would love to hear about your ideas for essential gardening clothing – what can’t you venture into the garden without wearing?

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Louise, our fantastic plant columnist has chosen a beautifully bright-leaved spurge as her Great Plant this Month this week – just the plant to brighten dank and dreary winter days:

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Plenty of stocking fillers in our shop

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