Not to be racist, but it helps a ton if you look a little Hispanic/Mexican. My mother was Spanish, so when I slick my hair back and grow out the sides of my mustache a bit, I can pull it off. You can buy whatever gardening stuff you want, whenever, and no one questions you. They think you run a landscaping/yard work business like so many other immigrants. I did it once just for fun, but found shopping for stuff a way different experience, so I do it whenever I want to buy something that a civil looking white guy would look sketchy buying.
This is High-larious.