The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

For years I have been looking for a way to keep my feet dry in the greenhouse and garden.  A lot of water gets sloshed around in the greenhouse  and my feet often  get wet and stay wet all day. The same is true out in the garden on a morning covered with heavy dew .

I’ve tried slip-on boots, the type that go over your shoes… they are too heavy to wear all day.

Galoshes are out of the question, for the same reason.

Disposable over boots are OK, but the don’t hold up to a lot of walking.

Wellington’s (known as “Wellies” in The British Isles) keep my feet the driest, but they are a little heavy and rub against my leg at the top of the boot when I walk.

This week the answer to my dilemma  arrived via UPS… a pair of “LawnGrips” garden shoes.

I opted for the short-top, non-steel toed model.

When I first put them on, they felt tight and uncomfortable. I was  disappointed because the advertisement claimed that they had a roomy toe area and gave your feet plenty of space.  I immediately took them off and planned to send them back.

The next day however, I decided to give them another try.  Low and behold, after about 15 minutes of walking, the shoe material started to relax and conform to the shape of my foot.

They turned out to be a very comfortable shoe, today I even  forgot that I had them on.

These LawnGrips kept my feet dry in the greenhouse and outdoors in the slushy mess we call snow.

The bottom of the shoe has a tread pattern with rounded edges that minimizes the sticking of mud  and debris to the bottom.  This avoids the biggest complaint I have about hiking boots in the garden…all of those tiny tread spaces tend to pick up and hold mud.

Like any product, it is not perfect and has it’s “Archilles  heel” :).  The top of the shoe has a stretchy porous material where the tongue is located. This allows water to get in if a direct stream of water hits that spot.  It’s a minor problem under most conditions.

So far I have not needed the put in an extra insole despite walking on the concrete greenhouse floor all day.

They are not available in stores yet but can be found at a number of vendors on-line.

They set me back about $85 , but if they hold up for the rest of the season, it’ll be well worth it.

Bob