Tools to Make Life Easier in the Garden

New gardening products are always hitting the market. Here are a few items that can make your time in the yard easier and more enjoyable. Some of the best are aimed at improving your personal comfort and protecting your skin from mosquitoes and ticks.

· LawnGrips Pro. These men's shoes are ingeniously engineered for comfort in the garden. The designer considered every practical requirement to protect your feet in the field, including a waterproof steel toe, waterproofed leather and sealed seams set on lug soles that offer a unique design for traction in soft soil and turf. Another handy feature is that the lugs are self-cleaning. Cost: $94.95.

· LawnGrips ProLite. If extra toe protection isn't a necessity, LawnGrips ProLite have all the features of the Pro without the weight of the steel toe. They have characteristics usually found in hiking shoes, with a removable insert, an insole board, steel shank, polyurethane midsole, a good hard heel counter to firmly hold the foot in place and an exceptionally flexible toe box that bends easily right where the foot naturally flexes. Cost: $99.95.

· GardenGrips Clogs. These come in three colors -- moss, indigo and slate -- and come with the same features as other LawnGrips work shoes, sans steel toe and heel counter. Tested in the garden by landscape professionals, these clogs withstood hills and unstable ground, and they are up to any gardening challenge, from kicking a shovel to pushing a wheelbarrow. Available in women's sizes. Cost: $74.95.

· Mumz Buzz Off. This line of comfortable, practical outdoor clothing helps keep you free of ticks, mosquitoes, black flies and other bothersome and disease-carrying insects. The Buzz Off line is stylish and 100 percent cotton. There are hats, scarves, slacks, shorts, long- and short-sleeve shirts, gloves, aprons, socks and other gear, some of it also rated to block 98 percent of harmful ultraviolet rays. This is the only insect-repellent apparel approved by the Environmental Protection Agency after rigorous testing and review. Mumz Buzz Off might not be for everyone, however. The repellent used is permethrin, a toxic insecticide. It is bonded tightly to the fabric and eventually washes out, but the fact is, you will be wearing it against your skin. The product's value depends on how badly you need the protection. Try one garment. If it works better than conventional creams and oils you have tried, Buzz Off might be for you. Cost: $10 to $54.

· Buzz Away Extreme. An alternative to treated fabric is wearing long sleeves and pants and covering any exposed skin with insect repellent. Products that contain DEET are deemed to be the most effective, but there is some controversy about their safety. A nontoxic repellent from Quantum Health called Buzz Away Extreme is effective and offers two to eight hours of protection. It is made from soybean, geranium, castor bean, cedarwood, citronella, peppermint and lemongrass oils. Follow labeled instructions. Cost: $9.99 for a four-ounce bottle.

· Poison Ivy Care Toxin Removal Cloths. The best way to avoid getting poison ivy is to know what it looks like and avoid touching it. But if you slip up, Cortaid's cloths can help clean off the oil before you start to itch. If you get the poison ivy allergen, called urushiol, on your skin, the severity of the rash will depend on how much contact you have and how long it has to absorb into your skin. Soap is not the best solvent for urushiol, so a box of Poison Ivy Care Toxin Removal Cloths could be handy for emergencies. Follow labeled instructions. Box of six: $9.99.

After you take care of yourself, it's time to take care of your garden.

· ReelSmart No-Crank Hose Reel. Manufactured by Hydro Industries, it's a surprisingly heavy-duty tool that can deliver the water all gardens need and wind itself back up with the push of a lever when done. The spool holds a 100-foot garden hose. Outfitted with a self-winding, water-powered engine that requires very little space on the frame, you'll wonder why the mechanism is called an engine -- until you try it. I hooked it up and effortlessly guided a 100-foot heavy-duty rubber hose onto the spool, slowly and steadily. The engine activates when you push a lever and leave the faucet on until the hose is wound. Turning the faucet off deactivates the mechanism; no gas, electric or battery power is involved. This unit has a 360-degree swivel base, a nozzle holder and a hose cleaner. Cost: $49 to $69.

· Mulch Block. Condition your soil in an innovative way with Mulch Block. It is a compressed block of mulch, using a byproduct of the coconut industry called coir, chipped coconut husk and fiber. The coir is compressed into nine-pound blocks each about the size of a phone book, which it will swell to five times its size. It is a convenient way to haul the mulch, recycle the coir, and enrich, aerate and moisten the soil. It holds 50 percent more moisture than topsoil. Cost: $9.99.

· Miracle-Gro Shake ' n Feed Continuous Release All Purpose Plant Food. Fertilize annuals, vegetables, fall flowering perennials and other bedding plants that have been getting watered regularly with this polymer-coated slow release 10-10-10 fertilizer that you sprinkle onto the beds. Feeding now will take you into fall for most plants. Cost: $14.99 for 4 1/2- pound jug.

· Morning Song's Goldfinch Super Sock. It comes filled with thistle seed and is refillable. Finches are in their glory this season in the Washington region. They have been plucking at purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, gaillardia and many other seeds. Cost: $7.99.

Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md. E-mail or contact him through his Web site, http://www.gardenlerner.com.