Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
18th February 2023
The Right Trousers
Whilst I love a lot of the old, traditional methods of gardening, I think one of the old-fashioned misconceptions should be outed.
Gardening does not need to be done in ‘old clothes’.
For years, I would wear clothes that ‘didn’t matter’ if they got ‘sgagged’ by brambles, burnt by the fall out of a bonfire or covered in cement. They were inevitably old and unloved clothes – clothes I wouldn’t be upset to throw out when they got spoiled.
There are some advantages to getting older, and realising that comfort matters is one of them. However, a willingness to invest in ‘proper’ kit doesn’t always guarantee comfort. Over the years I have experimented with numerous pairs of boots, gloves, base layers and trousers to little avail and much expense. Finally I have sorted out good boots, gloves, tops – and even socks and underwear – but have always struggled with finding trousers that were a good fit, comfortable, didn’t make me look 3 times my size, and have enough essential pockets for a busy (and forgetful) gardener.
Finally, finally, finally I have found the perfect pair of woman’s gardening trousers. Not surprisingly, they have been designed by a female gardener who knew we needed a higher waistband at the back, lots of pockets, (including a reinforced one for secateurs), sleek knee pads, a good stretchy fit and as an added bonus, they decided to make them flattering too.
In fact the new Slim Leg Gardening Trousers from Genus have so many pockets, I was still finding them a couple of days into wearing them. Pure delight. And whilst talking about delight – the knee pads are actually velcroed into the legs which makes them completely adjustable so you actually do kneel on them, not like other knee pads which end up anywhere except over the knee.
And because I can easily remove the knee pads, I can confidently say I will also be wearing these tremendous trousers for walking, talking (my public speaking) and just about every other activity I do.
I also invested in a pair of 3 Season Gardening Trousers, which are endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society and have the most perfect phone pocket in the waistband, keeping it out of harm’s way. They are also ‘pawfect’ for dog walking and hiking which means you don’t need any other activity trousers. Another win-win for an officinaphobe (person who hates shopping) like me.
When I spoke to owner and creator, Sue (to sort out sizes – I am 5’7”, 9st and need the size 8 x long trousers), she shared that one customer who bought the Genus gardening trousers 10 years ago is still wearing them. Now, that definitely makes them my kind of clothes – and excellent value for money.
Meandering through www.genus.gs I felt even more reassured to see they sell many of my other favourites too – many of which I have shared with you – the Hori Hori knife, Japanese secateurs, thermals, silk glove liners, socks that stay up, Blundstone boots and even the hand-warmer I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. They also offer lots of other ‘fit for purpose’ gardening clothes and goods.
They definitely know what gardeners need, and the ‘gardener’s clothing’ in particular is ‘well behaved’, and eager to please – it doesn’t chafe, rub, ride up or slide down – it all wants to ‘work’, be worn, be involved.
Being able to go to one company and website for ‘proper’ gardening kit is not only Genus, it’s pure genius.
A Good Bet For Hedges
We have been busy making sure that we finished cutting all our garden hedges last week. The RSPB recommend avoiding cutting these hedges during the breeding season for nesting birds and advise, ‘It is an offence under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 to ‘intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built, or to intentionally kill, injure or take chicks or adults, or intentionally take or destroy any eggs.’
Whilst they also advise that the nest building season usually runs from the beginning of March to the end of August, it’s worth remembering that like most ‘builders’, they may not ‘work conveniently’ within this window. If the weather is mild, they may start nest building a little earlier so it is important to always check carefully for any sign of nests – even in larger shrubs – prior to cutting or pruning.
I have to admit to finding hedge cutting infinitely easier since we discovered the Henchman ladders. I am fiercely possessive of my 5ft tripod ladder, as despite having the 8ft version, my brother finds my ‘ickle ladder’ the perfect height for a lot of his hedges. The tripod ladders we use have three fully adjustable legs, which makes them cheerfully confident to accommodate all sorts of slopes and uneven terrain. They are wonderfully safe and will reassure the most ladder adverse person. I was definitely not a ladder-lover until I had a Henchman (not a sentence you expect to use).
A Hi Step Platform, or Platform Stepladder, is also a must-have if you are doing any amount of hedge cutting and has been a great addition to our ‘ladder fleet.’ It is a bit heavier than the tripod ladders but once set up is just like working off the ground.
And there is always the entertainment value – perfect for site humour. The last Henchman ladder I had delivered went to my brother’s house and he texted me to say. “I’m not sure what you have been doing but there is a Henchman waiting in the yard for you!”
There is a lovely ‘back story’ to the company and they are fabulous to deal with – you get to speak to a real person and you know how much I appreciate that. There is a very useful questionnaire on their website to ensure you get the perfect ladder for your needs and they offer a range of quality cutting tools and other accessories.
Although I do worry that they may also be the secret weapon of one of the ‘other rugby teams’ – I’ll let you have a look at their website to see why! www.henchman.co.uk
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