Garden view
Forget fashion week – gardeners are layering up this season, with knee pads, stab-proof pockets and wickable undies, says Katrina Roche
Katrina Roche is dressed to till: waterproof layers, knee pads and wickable undies
Legendary fellwalker Alfred Wainwright once said there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. This applies as much to gardening as to hiking, where it’s always best to dress in layers so you can cope with whatever our British weather systems can throw at you – ie any weather, in any season.
After a day spent weeding a client’s garden in the rain, taking off my layers is like peeling an onion. Off comes the (not so) waterproof jacket, the (thankfully very effective) waterproof trousers, and finally, a pair of soggy socks. It makes me think about my gardening wardrobe in general: glamorous it is not, but there’s still scope to indulge in a little Retail Therapy. It’s just that nowadays I trawl the local charity shops for the stoutest outer layers I can find, rather than spend a Saturday in the West End looking for the perfect killer heels.
My best sartorial investment so far has been a pair of gardening trousers featuring built-in knee-pads, a stab-proof pocket for secateurs, a mobile phone compartment and several other pockets for which I’ve yet to find a use. I love these trousers so much I recently bought a lightweight summer pair, with the same detailing but in a cooler fabric.
There’s another item of clothing that works just as hard as I do. It’s a man’s dark navy jacket made from heavy cotton with a ribbed storm collar and a slightly gathered waist. It isn’t waterproof so it’s no good for the wettest days but it’s warm and has a satisfying heft to it. It cost me £15 in a local charity shop three years ago and has been in the washing machine hundreds of times. Togged out in said jacket and a woolly bobble hat I’m ready to face whatever the winter weather has to offer, particularly because I’m also wearing at least two breathable sweat-wicking base layers.
What of hands and feet? I’ve been told that if your wrists are warm, so are your fingers, so I wear long-wristed fingerless mittens that fit comfortably under my stretchy hi-viz gardening gloves. This system works well, save on the iciest days of the year, when I have to give up and retreat into the warmth for a cuppa.
When it comes to footwear, my steel-capped boots must qualify for the Worzel Gummidge award for least-glamorous item of clothing ever worn. Yet without them I wouldn’t have been allowed to wield a spade during my RHS Level 2 practical horticulture course. I’m more than happy to sacrifice fashion to keep my toes. But when I know there’s no digging required and a light tread through the flowerbed is called for, it’s a relief to don my comfy old trainers with their worn-down soles: ideal for Ninja movements among seedlings and bulbs.
Working in gardens doesn’t mean there isn’t scope for a bit of style. Admittedly it’s easier to achieve in summer when I can sport stripes or a T-shirt branded with my logo. A cotton scarf or stretchy neck gaiter (yup, that’s what they’re called!) protects from sunburn as well as asserting a degree of individuality. As does the hat: wide-brimmed canvas works best for me, particularly as sunglasses always slide down my nose and would have to been taken off and put somewhere safe when working in the shade. I would lose them in an instant.
With a couple of stalwart garments and a stout pair of boots my look might not grace the catwalks of London Fashion Week, but I’m ready for sun, wind or even (once I’ve zipped up my waterproof over trousers) a monsoon. ✿
My steel-capped boots must qualify for the Worzel Gummidge award