If you ever watch “Keeping Up Appearances” on Georgia Public
Television, you know that Richard has to garden in a tie. “Poor
devil,” as his next-door neighbor Emmet would say.

Well, they don’t live in Georgia with its heat and humidity
during gardening season. Me? I garden comfortably.

If you’re gardening in the front yard, you may want to wear
something more appropriate than when digging in the dirt in the
“back forty.” Back there, comfort is most important.

OK, it’s one of the two most important things, along with safety.
The statistics say anyone exposed to too much sun has a greater
chance of developing a melanoma, the deadliest form of skin
cancer.

Protect Skin from Sun

Gloves, long sleeves, pants in breathable fabrics — there is
even a line of clothing made from fabrics especially woven to
protect skin from the sun. I’ve worn it, and I know it works.

I have two pair of baggy carpenter jeans — you know, the ones
with several extra pockets for storing shears and other tools. I
know my wife has patched one pair four times and threatened to
throw them out many more times than that.

The second pair are my “front yard” jeans. They have only one
patch. Until jeans get extra soft and are roomy enough and
patched, they’re not gardening jeans.

Wife Caught Me Gone

My wife caught me gone for several days and threw out my jeans
coveralls that were just getting broken in. I had already been
told not to be in the garden during lightning, because I would
surely be struck, with all of the metal in the safety pins
holding my coveralls together. Probably best she got rid of
those. If she just had thought, though, she could have used them
to patch the jeans.

I’ve tried boots, tennis shoes, rubber boots and rubber and
leather combination boots, but the footwear that suits me best
are extra heavy duty sandals.

I know that dirt filters through the socks and there are strange
patterns on my feet when I take them off, but my toes like the
feel of being free. I just have to be careful with the pitchfork
while working with sandals on.

Favorite Shirt

I don’t know of a gardener who doesn’t have a favorite shirt. You
know: the one that’s hung out to dry before “she who must be
obeyed” lets you bring it into the house to wash. It has that
certain feel. It doesn’t bind or constrain anywhere. Mine is
long-sleeved to help keep out the sun.

Hats are altogether another story. I like straws with a wide brim
and the tie under the chin. Straws allow your head to breath, and
the tie keeps it from falling off and being chewed up by the
mower. As with the shirt, each gardener has that favorite hat
that suits to a T.

Gloves, Too

Gloves are another part of the gardener’s apparel. I use the
brown, cloth ones, because I continually lose them and dig them
up the next year or find them chewed up by the lawn mower where I
dropped them. They tend to keep the hands and fingernails
cleaner.

Also, don’t forget that hand towel for the back pocket. I can’t
tell you how many times this comes in handy — just run it under
the hose and wipe off. An indispensable part of gardening.

Be comfortable while gardening. Wear proper clothing and hats.
Use sunscreen (there’s nothing wrong with prunes, but who wants
to look like one?) and enjoy yourself.