Somehow the dishtowel get-up just isn't my thing. The spring burn is sort of an annual rite, a nagging reminder that the gardening season is here and there's more work to be done outdoors. In addition to the back of my neck, my shoulders, the tops of my hands, and the backs of my calves get burned this time of year. These are the body parts that get the most exposure to the sun, as I till and toil to plant this year's crop of veggies. I've also done the annual scramble to find the nail brush that's been stowed away in some bathroom drawer all winter.
Vegetable gardeners tend to wear the evidence of their communing with nature on their hands.
I have never been able to wear gloves to work in the garden. When I've tried them, I've lost too much manual dexterity as well as the pleasure that comes from contact with earth. These are the same items of clothing that I might wear to paint the house or change the oil in the car. I look with amusement at the photos of people in fashionable gardening attire in some of the catalogs I get. Tidy, handsome women model unbeschmirched and well-pressed aprons and jumpers as they prepare for a hypothetical afternoon of working the dirt.