Are you recycling your worn-out running shoes as gardening shoes? Are you relegating your loafers to the garden when they get scuffed and scratched? Do you go out to the garden after you get home from work and start pulling weeds and picking vegetables in your work shoes?

You're doing yourself a disfavor if you are not wearing gardening shoes to do your gardening.

Characteristics of Great Gardening Shoes

The best gardening shoes are waterproof. Waterproof shoes are a must if you live in a rainy climate, where just walking across the lawn gets your shoes wet. You don't want to be afraid to step into mud, wet flowerbeds, the edges of water features, and other damp areas of your yard. Even when the climate is dry, your shoes might get wet every time you water your yard, so make sure they are waterproof.

Great gardening shoes are also easy to take off and put back on. A typical gardening session involves moving freely from outdoors to indoors and back again. You won't want to track mud and dirt into the house, so you should be able to slip your shoes off and leave them on the back porch, then slip them on again after you refill your coffee cup, use the bathroom, or just take a break inside.

Finally, the ideal gardening shoes should be sturdy, with closed heels and toes. When summer is here and tomatoes are ripening on the vine, you will be tempted to garden in your flip-flops and bare feet to pick those tomatoes. Don't give in to this temptation. One thing leads to another in the garden, and on your way to the tomato patch, you're bound to spot a weed that needs to be dug, or a perennial that needs to be transplanted. Before you know it, you'll be trying to penetrate hard, dry ground by putting all of your weight onto a flip-flop resting on the edge of a shovel. Flip flops are not gardening shoes.

Your gardening shoes can be any color, although most tend to be either dull colors or bright colors, with nothing in between. Dull colored shoes hide dirt – but not forever. You may as well get bright colored gardening shoes. Bright colored shoes have the advantage of being easy to spot, so if you kick off your shoes and indulge in going barefoot while picking peas one day, you can easily find your gardening shoes the next.

Whether you choose traditional shoes, clogs or boots, having the best gardening shoes can lead to having the best garden.