Seattle ranks No. 2 for naked gardening ahead of World Naked Gardening Day
May 2, 2025, 10:52 AM
A garden in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: @Wonderlane via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: @Wonderlane via Flickr Creative Commons)
Going 鈥渂arefoot in the garden鈥� might take on new meaning this weekend, as Seattle has just been ranked the second-best city in the nation for naked gardening.
That鈥檚 right鈥擲eattle trails only Miami in a new list of the top U.S. cities for stripping down and digging in, just in time for World Naked Gardening Day, which takes place Saturday.
The rankings come from LawnStarter, a lawn care company that evaluated 500 U.S. cities across 11 metrics, including weather, legality of public nudity, and online search interest for terms like 鈥渘aked gardening鈥� and 鈥淲orld Naked Gardening Day.鈥�
RELATED STORIES
鈥淲hen you think back to Adam and Eve, it鈥檚 all about being naked in the Garden of Eden,鈥� Jeff Herman, editor with LawnStarter, said. 鈥淚 guess some people continue to think the best way to garden is to garden in your skin.鈥�
Helping Seattle earn its high rank? The city鈥檚 tolerant attitude toward clothing-optional behavior, and one notable local advocate.
Mark Storey, a Seattle-area philosophy professor and co-founder of World Naked Gardening Day, said baring it all while working in the soil can be both grounding and liberating.
鈥淢ost people actually kind of enjoy being one with the soil,鈥� Storey said. 鈥淭o remove the clothes while we鈥檙e doing it鈥攊t鈥檚 actually a healthy thing. It鈥檚 healthy intellectually, it鈥檚 healthy socially.鈥�
While some cities embrace the idea, others aren鈥檛 quite ready to ditch the overalls. Anchorage, Alaska, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, ranked among the coldest spots to garden naked. Boulder, Colorado; Auburn, Alabama; and Flagstaff, Arizona also showed less enthusiasm for au naturel horticulture.
How do other Washington cities rank for naked gardening?
Other Washington cities on the list include:
Bellevue – 214th
Vancouver – 112th
Tacoma – 93rd
Kennewick – 89th
Yakima – 76th
Spokane – 21st
Still, Storey encourages the curious to give it a shot.
鈥淲hatever your comfort level is鈥攆riends, family, or by yourself鈥攊f you can give it a try, I鈥檓 willing to bet money you鈥檙e going to walk away thinking that was pretty cool,鈥� he said.
One final word of caution from LawnStarter: Whether you choose to garden clothed or not, never operate a lawnmower in the nude.
Follow Luke Duecy on聽聽Read more of his stories聽here. Submit news tips聽here.
