TRIED AND TESTED

Six pairs of slip-on gardening shoes put to the test

RUSH, rush, rush. It’s started to rain and you’ve left the secateurs outside, or perhaps you’re preparing dinner and are short of some herbs. Maybe the evening has turned chilly and you need to pop out and shut the greenhouse door – there are dozens of reasons for keeping a pair of shoes by the backdoor, ready to be slipped on to make a quick dash into the garden.

When time is of the essence, you need footwear that you can don with speed. A wide entrance point helps and you certainly don’t want to waste time tying laces, fastening buckles or fixing Velcro. And, because you’re going into the garden, the shoes need to be waterproof and have good traction so there’s no danger of slippling on wet grass. They also need to be strong underfoot so that you don’t feel every stone or pebble along the way.

Since they will live by the backdoor, maybe in the kitchen or perhaps the utility, it’s nice to have a good-looking pair of shoes and they should also be easy to clean under the tap or with a damp cloth.