Gardener’s guide: Stay sun-safe (without looking dorky)

Summer gardening can bring Zen-like relaxation: Your worries drift away as you plant, weed, and prune. One potential downside to this blissful fugue state? It’s easy to totally forget about sun care until you emerge, hours later, with a happy green thumb but a wicked sunburn. 

Staying sun safe is more crucial than ever as U.S. rates of melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — have increased 46% over the past decade, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. 

Luckily, there are tons of ways — both time-tested and new — for gardeners to enjoy the outdoors even on the sunniest days. “My father taught me about farming and outdoor labor and how the straw cowboy hat is the thing we do,” for sun safety, says John Hoogland, a horticulturalist and fourth-generation leader of Hoogland’s Landscape. His team, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, is also partial to straw sombreros and electrolyte drinks to work through even the hottest summer days in the South. 

That said, there are plenty of other sun-proofing strategies that can make gardening as enjoyable as possible. To help you find the right ones, I’ve tapped my years of product-testing experience (I was the founding editor of the shopping site Buy Side from The Wall Street Journal) and rounded up some top options.

There’s a reason that straw hats for outdoor labor date back centuries: They’re relatively sturdy and light enough that you can forget you’re even wearing one. The least expensive ones can boast UPF 50, a chin cord and a 4-inch brim, but stylish raffia hats abound and can double as chic sun protection for an outdoor brunch, too. Straw hats’ lightweight nature means you may be chasing them into your neighbors’ yards, so don’t forgo a chin strap.

Bucket hats are cute, but for summer gardening, to protect your face, ears and neck, most people benefit from at least a 3- to 4-inch brim, like this sunhat, along with other features like fabric with a UPF rating of 50 or a built-in, optional neck “cape.” Go for a breathable fabric (many feature ventilation) and a headband to wick sweat on the hottest days. Just avoid floral printed hats that can attract backyard bees.

Gardening pros often wear long sleeves for sun and rash protection, but T-shirt lovers need not despair, as gardening sleeves can offer great UPF 50 protection. Some home gardeners love pulling them on for quick turns in the garden when you don’t necessarily want to slather on sunscreen or completely change clothes. For tending plants or trees with thorns and resin, you may need to pull on heartier pruning sleeves, which can also offer sun protection.

Make your garden a squint-free zone with sunglasses that offer eye protection — look for UV400 — and comfort. This polarized pair from Sunski has removable side shields and a brow shield to truly block the rays from all angles. For a perfect fit that won’t slip as you kneel and reach in the garden, Goodr sells sun specs in small-scale options for those of us often stuck buying frames in the kid’s section as well as in size XL for people with Viking-like noggins.

Aside from blocking the sun’s rays, many gardeners use the morning and evening “golden window” rule to mostly avoid it. This involves starting in the early morning and finishing by 9 am or waiting until after 4 pm. Others simply avoid the most solar-intense hours of 11 am to 2 pm. While there’s a certain serenity in night-time gardening by porch light or even headlamp, be warned: You do risk straying into poison ivy or coming face-to-face with nocturnal critters.

Newer sunscreen technology means there’s a formula out there for every skin type and preference, and finding one you like, dermatologists say, is the best way to ensure you’ll actually remember to wear it. Gardeners need SPF 30 or higher with broad-spectrum protection, meaning it shields you from both ultraviolet A and B rays. Chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays to prevent them from reaching your skin, while mineral sunscreens reflect UV rays, so it’s just a matter of personal preference. Skip formulas with fragrance, or you could wind up swatting away gnats, which can be attracted to the scent.

Many of us have the best intentions about reapplying sunscreen and wind up blowing it. Stow a loud, retro-style timer in with your gardening gloves so you can remind yourself to reapply sunscreen during long outdoor sessions, or ask Siri or Alexa on a device within earshot to remind you when it’s time. Dermatologists suggest every two hours, but if the sun is particularly strong or you’ve been sweating, 40 minutes is a wiser choice.  That way, you’ll be playing it safe while out there among the plants.