Keep hands safe and warm with Adam’s handpicked best
If you’re anything like me then one of the things you love about gardening is getting out there and getting your hands dirty, both in theory and in reality! There is nothing quite like the feel of the earth between your fingers to know you’ve had a rewarding session in the great outdoors.
However, protecting hands is also important, so ‘glove up’ with my top picks.
Everyday Essentials
It’s so helpful to be able to feel your way when gardening, to experience it all first-hand (if you’ll pardon another pun), so for me, everyday gardening gloves need to be thin enough to do just that.
And that’s exactly where the Bamboo Touchscreen Gloves from Cool Job come into play. As the name suggests, this particular range is made almost entirely from bamboo, which makes them breathable and comfortable enough to wear all day long outside. Not only are they soft, but the non-slip grip palm means that you won’t be losing a handle on your garden tools either, even when wet.
See cooljobsafety.com for the full range. The Bamboo Touchscreen Gloves are available with an RRP of £11.99 for a pack of two pairs.
For tougher jobs
Although it’s important to be able to feel what we’re doing, it’s equally as essential to be protected during those tougher jobs. There will be times where you’ll need to get a grip on brambles, roses and thorns and the Tough Touch™ gloves from Gold Leaf are my go-to in those situations.
I’ve tried all sorts of gloves and one thing that always frustrates me is that they’re always almost too tough, meaning you lose all the flexibility that you need to complete the job in hand. However, Tough Touch gloves give you the protection your hands need while remaining remarkably soft and stretchy and really rather comfortable too.
The gloves also come with an extended cuff section that will protect your wrists against unruly scratches and scrapes while pruning. The whole range is endorsed by the RHS, which is exactly the seal of approval you’d expect from these high-quality gloves.
See goldleaf-gloves.com for the full range available. The Tough Touch gloves have an RRP of £29.99
For little ones
I’m lucky enough to have two little helpers running around in our garden whenever I’m outside (I use the term ‘helper’ very loosely) and as they’ve got older, they are taking more of an interest and, of course, they want their own gloves. So I was delighted to try the kids gardening gloves from Kent & Stowe, which come in a range of patterns and colours including dinosaurs, my only sadness here is that the dinosaurs don’t come in an adult size!
Made completely from a soft cotton, they’ll fit most hands between the ages of 3 and 6, keeping little hands safe and warm in the garden. Because of the brighter colours, you’ll never have to worry that they’re going to get lost when they eventually get thrown off after the kids get bored.
See gardenhealth.com for the colours and designs available. Available from a wide range of stockists including Marshalls Garden.
Made For Women
Every so often my wife will come out to help in the garden too, but she’s always struggled to find gloves specifically designed for her slimmer hands. So imagine our delight at discovering Feverfew earlier this year at a gardening show.
The work that Rachel and the team have put into designing something specifically thought through with women’s hands in mind, is really something. This range, available in both the original green and a newer plum colour are, in their words, ‘obsessively designed and perfected to provide you with the best possible ratio of protection, dexterity and style’, and my wife couldn’t agree more.
Sizes range from XS all the way to large and each pair also comes with a padded palm section for added comfort.
See feverfewgarden.co.uk for the collection. The Original and Plum colours, both have an RRP of £22.95
For more gardening advice, tips, and DIY projects, you can follow Adam on Instagram @viewfromthepottingbench
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