Footware in the Garden

What I really wear in the garden, and some reports from gardening friends about their favorites.

For Strolling, Fiddling, Deadheading, Weeding

I've overpaid more than once for the suddenly trendy though decidedly ugly Crocs at $30 a pair, so I was happy to find their more reasonably priced competitor — Sloggers, at $18-22. And my blue Sloggers actually look good enough with jeans to wear outside the house without provoking jeers. I've found them utterly comfortable and fine for all but the most strenuous of gardening tasks, like stand-up digging, that require a stronger shoe.

Over on GardenRant we were all given a pair to review, andI invite my Gardenrant partners to leave comments with their own reviews. Amy wrote: "I got a pair too and they are great for kicking on and off at the back porch — perfect for that morning stroll around the garden to toss snails at the chickens and yank a weed or two, but if you're going to get more involved than that, you might head back inside for your muck boots." and I won't go on because that was the consensus. Except that Elizabeth prefers hiring someone to getting geared up with muck boots and doing the really nasty garden jobs.

Here's some product information on Sloggers and Premium Garden Clogs. All have the much-loved feature of being easy to slip in and out of every time you run indoors to freshen your iced tea, or whatever.

Okay, back to the overpriced but distinctive Crocs for this exploration of the politics of the Crocs/Slogger debate: "Crocs are Multil-Colored but Red at Heart.

Now if you're really just strolling and deadheading, any old shoe will do — sandles of all types, cheapie flip-flops — even bare feet. Gawd, I love strolling my garden barefoot in the morning. Pure pay-off.

For Serious Stand-up Digging and Other Real Work

My main gardening shoes — day in and day out — clogs of various brands. These red ones I love SO MUCH I can't stand throwing them away, despite their torn and battered condition. They're

For some more dangerous tasks, especially involving climbing ladders, I prefer hand-me-down running or walking shoes, handed down from appearing-in-public status to the lowly but still utilitarian only-in-the-garden status. Your shoes probably go through a similar evolution on their way to the dump. It's recycling.

It Takes All Kinds

One gardener friend told me that sweatpants and muck boots are the height of style in Maine, where she llves and gardens. I had to Google muck boots because I wasn't familiar with the term but now that I know they're thick and rubbery and possibly even tall, it's no wonder I've never seen anyone wear them here in the hot+humid mid-Atlantic region. Probably never will.

Another Northerner weighs in with his Garden Footwear Review. It was a big hit in the blogosphere, and you'll see why.

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Muck boot photo credit.