Gardening Aprons Worthy of Gertrude Jekyll

There is nothing dainty about gardening, as Gertrude Jekyll made clear a century ago. When the Englishwoman who invented modern horticultural design mucked about in her own flower beds, she donned a sturdy apron and combat boots. Perhaps we should too.

Well, at least an apron. (I'm willing to table the combat boots discussion for now.) And a leather apron would be particularly empowering, allowing one to tromp around like some kind of gardening superhero, casually repelling mud and water and rose thorns.

Above: Handmade by local craftsmen in Shropshire, England, the Full Leather Apron from Hibbitt is £60.

Above: Haws' Leather Apron (£69.99) has the added advantage of resembling a barbecue apron; consider buying it as a "gift" for someone else in the family ("Happy Father's Day!") and later appropriating it for your own use.

Above: Pockets are key. The Full Body Apron ($225 from Christophe Pourny) has deep ones to carry twine and your Felco pruners and the fork you appropriated from the kitchen because the tines are just the right size to tease out weeds from between the cracks of things.