What do you wear to garden in Autumn/Winter?

[AnaYorks]

Am dreaming of growing vegetables etc in a new garden, but I feel the cold dreadfully and have Reynauds so need to keep my hands and body warm.

I'm interested to know what you wear to keep warm and dry(ish) when you're gardening, but which still allows you to move pretty freely. Any recommendations gratefully received!

Someone I know swears by thermal underwear/base layers for skiing which can be bought in an outdoors shop or online eg Amazon. Not cheap but cosy and if you dress in layers you maintain warmth but perspiration wicks away. She also uses silk inner linings when wearing gloves.

Personally I find layers the best way to go and after mid October a hat but lots of people cope with long sleeves and a bodywarmer. My mistake is usually to think I'll just do that bit there, forgetting that clearing away and putting back tools and sometimes carting stuff off to the dump is all part of it and at this time of year the light falls away quickly.

I could get a smock like this
www.cornishwear.com/product/fleece-moss/
or this
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/91881064/smock-de-jardin?ref=shop_home_active
and I am also thinking about getting a gardeners apron a bit like this with pockets to put secateurs and twine in.
www.zazzle.co.uk/gardening+smock+gifts

If you need to keep your hands warm then possibly the best are those thermolite inner gloves which ski-ers and cyclists wear and put them on inside your gardening gloves.

I have Reynauds too. These gloves are invaluable during the really cold weather.

Clothes-wise it's all about layers - I find I warm up very quickly once I start gardening so it's essential to be able to peel as required.

I wear thick hiking socks throughout the winter, regardless of whether I'm gardening or enduring soft play.

Loving that Cornishwear fleece smock.

Do people really buy smocks and things just to garden in?

I must be a slob as i just wear jeans, t shirt and old sweater in winter, cargo shorts and t shirt in summer. I have some gardening wellies if it is wet and some crocs if it is dry and a selection of pairs of fleecy socks.

I have several pairs of gardening gloves for different types of jobs i might be doing. leather for pruning anything with thorns, rubber coated for working with wet soil. light cloth ones for planting seeds.

I also have one of my sons old jackets i keep in the utility for if it is raining or i am dealing with compost.

i want a gardening smock now and a wee wooden trug and floppy hat so i can float around looking glam rather than looking like stig of the dumps older sister.

Good idea to have lots of pairs of dedicated gloves I just have one old suede pair and some Marigolds.

Arf at Stig of the Dump's older sister. That's pretty much my style, although I do have a very nice gardening apron.

I don't wear gardening clothes except for a floppy old extralarge grey Cath Kidston cotton jersey cardigan with big pockets and paint stains which I am very fond of. I would like a nice gardening apron with big pockets but havent found quite the right thing yet.

A boiler suit is ideal IMO for keeping you warm and dry - I have these as the zips make it really easy to get on & off over wellies.

Add comfortable work trousers, long sleeve t-shirt and fleece underneath then a good bodywarmer over the top.

Thick socks & leather walking boots ideally, though I have a pair of lined Muck boot wellies if it really is too muddy for leather boots.

Gloves - I really like the Showa Thermo gloves because they come sized & I can get a size 7 (small hands).

Generally I start off with all that lot on at 7.30 am on a frosty morning and am in trousers + t-shirt by coffee time if it is sunny

This Orla Kiely garden apron is half price on amazon and makes me think of Penelope Keith. There are gardening gloves to match.
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CL96MGY/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

This company has norfolk slop smocks and jute garden aprons but is pricey.
carriercompany.co.uk/shop/garden

I clicked on this imagining it would be about wearing a big hat, long dress and floating around the garden, nonchalantly snipping roses and laying them a woven basket.

I wear the scruffiest stuff I have but layered, as no matters how cold it gets, if the sun comes out here, you're roasting in minutes.

I have separate front and back garden fake crocs $5, a bargain.

If I was braver, I might garden as that English grand lady does ( can't remember her name, but she has a stately home/gardens, and when I went there years ago, she was doing the garden wearing pink hot pants and yellow fishnet tights.:o

Half aprons are no good at all - you need a full length apron that protects your chest and your shirt from dirt and thorns etc.

I thought echt was going to refer to the couple from Malmesbury who garden in the buff.

I've kept a favourite old anorak for gardening, otherwise there's a selection of gloves and boots/shoes in the garage and whatever I've put on for the day, including a hat.

I used to have a squashy wide brimmed leather hat that was perfect for gardening in the rain, as I hate hoods. I managed to lose it last autumn and I am bereft; I've never seen one quite like it and hats normally never fit my pin sized head. I think it was Australian.

Arf at the Malmesbury couple. Think of the nettles!

I generally wear whatever I'm wearing, but with a few layers of fleece over. My top layer is always a reversible fleece gilet with a tightly-woven non-fleece side, which acts like a chest-apron. Bright days I wear a sun-hat, even if it's cold, and cold, windy days I wear a beanie. Rainy days - I don't garden! Though a few spots of rain don't bother me.

Always kneel on a kneeling pad or use strap-on knees. You can loose a lot of heat to the ground without realising it's happening.

I used to use cotton gloves that had been dipped in a thick latex, but last year changed to leather gloves. Much better, winter and summer. I rub them with hydro-block every few uses. If I need to do ptolonged wet stuff like washing tools, pots, etc, then I use heavy duty Marigolds, but otherwise leather gloves for all jobs, wet or dry.

General keep-warm tip from me would be to wear wool bottom layers. Socks (at least 75% wool) and 100% merino thermals are an excellent investment. Hard-wearing and - unless they actually get dirty - do not need washing with every wear.

The Raynaud Association has a link to clothing (socks, gloves) made with silver, which apparently is amazing. I truly might try it this year, as I have suffered the real misery of chilblains every year since I was a toddler. (I remember having to change into doctor-prescribed furry boots every playtime ). I Have also just updated my wellies to neoprene lined ones, and ordered some shearling Hunter insoles from EBay. There are much more expensive boots from Dubarry etc which are waterproof and warm. Moisturiser, esp with urea in helps on hands and feet too. I garden loads and live in a freezing house, so in have to stave off the cold/wet somehow.

Well the green room is best option in growing the plants in winter. because it prevent them from cold, water and other things. But you can use any cloth which is water proof to provide them shelter.

cantspel's post could have been written by me. I look a right old scruff but always have decent gloves and footwear. I wear neoprene-lined wellis in winter, and Aigle gardening shoes in summer.

I wear lots of layers to trap the air and an old pair of walking boots. Also have a pair of leather Gold Leaf Touch gauntlets which cost quite a lot but are so warm. Not keen on wellies as mine are so inflexible.

Thanks for all the posts. Maybe I could float around in a floppy hat, bare feet and daisy chains with a trug in summer; but in winter I'm happy to be scruffy as long as I'm warm!

Seems like layers, possibly with some kind of gilet, are the way to go, and I'll be checking out the various glove recommendations to see if I can find something I can garden in while still keeping my fingers from feeling they're about to drop off! :)