Women's gardening gloves: the designs we stock
Almost every women's gardening glove we stock is one size, which removes the main obstacle to buying a pair as a present. What separates them is the print, the palm and how the wrist is finished, and those three things decide whether a pair gets worn every day or kept for good.
This is a look at the designs themselves. If you want the wider question of which type of glove suits which job, that is covered in the best gardening gloves for every job.
- What one size actually means
- Willow & Belle Wiggle
- Burgon & Ball Olive Stripe
- RHS British Meadow and British Bloom
- The matching sets
- Frequently asked questions
What one size actually means
One size in this category generally means a women's medium with enough stretch in the fabric to cover a size either side. The Burgon & Ball Collector gloves state it plainly as one size, women's medium.
In practice that works for most hands, because these are stretch-fit gloves rather than tailored leather. If the person you are buying for has notably large or small hands, a stretch-fit pair is still the safer bet than guessing at a sized glove, since a slightly roomy glove is usable and a tight one is not.
Willow & Belle Wiggle
The brightest of the three, in a multicoloured wiggle pattern running through green, pink, orange, blue and yellow. It is the pair you can find again after putting it down in a border, which is a more useful property than it sounds.
- Stretch-fit fabric for a close, flexible feel
- Cushioned palm and fingers for grip and a little protection
- Elasticated wrist to keep soil and debris out
- Designed in the UK, and washable
Built for light to medium work: planting, weeding, potting, tying in. Not a pruning glove, and not pretending to be.
Burgon & Ball Olive Stripe
The quiet one, in a classic olive stripe with a cottage garden feel. This is the design that looks least like gardening kit and gets worn the most.
- Padded synthetic suede palm, which is what makes repetitive work comfortable
- Two-way stretch mesh between the fingers for breathability and movement
- Elasticated wrist with a ric-rac trim
- One size, women's medium, machine washable at 30 degrees
The padded palm is the detail worth paying for here. Pruning and potting both involve gripping the same thing repeatedly, and padding across the palm is what stops that turning into a sore hand by the end of the afternoon.
RHS British Meadow and British Bloom
Both prints are drawn from nineteenth century botanical illustration, with wildflowers and butterflies across the back of the hand. British Meadow is the softer of the two, British Bloom the bolder.
- Cushioned palm for comfort and protection
- Gathered wrist to keep debris out
- Stretch-fit fabric for easy movement
- Machine washable at 30 degrees
These are the pairs that leave the shop as gifts most often, partly because of the RHS endorsement and partly because the illustration is genuinely good rather than a generic floral. The rest of the range sits in Burgon & Ball.
The matching sets
The RHS designs are the ones that carry across a set. Both British Meadow and British Bloom have a companion Kneelo kneeler in the same print, which is the pairing to reach for if you want a gift with a bit more to it than a single pair of gloves.
That combination also solves a practical problem. Anyone gardening on their knees for an hour needs the kneeler more than the gloves, and buying both together means the kneeler actually gets used rather than being something they mean to get round to.
Everything women's sits in our gardening gloves collection, and the sets appear in Gardening Gifts.
Frequently asked questions
Do women's gardening gloves really come in one size?
Most of the stretch-fit designs do, and one size here generally means a women's medium with enough give in the fabric to fit a size either side comfortably. The Burgon & Ball Collector gloves state this directly. It works because these gloves are knitted or stretch-woven rather than cut from leather, so they mould to the hand. For anyone with notably large or small hands, a stretch-fit pair is still a safer gift than guessing at a sized glove, since slightly roomy is wearable and tight is not.
Can you machine wash women's gardening gloves?
The stretch-fit fabric designs generally yes, at 30 degrees, and both the Burgon & Ball Olive Stripe and the RHS prints state that on the label. Check the individual pair before washing, and avoid harsh detergent, which breaks down the cushioned palm coating over time. Shake the dry soil out first so you are not working grit into the fibres in the drum. Dry them naturally and away from direct heat rather than on a radiator, which stiffens the palm material.
What does a cushioned palm actually do?
It spreads the pressure of gripping. Most garden work involves holding the same thing repeatedly, whether that is secateurs, a trowel handle or the rim of a pot, and it is the repetition rather than the force that leaves a hand aching. A padded or cushioned palm takes the edge off that and adds a little protection against rough surfaces and grit. It is the single feature that most affects how long you can comfortably keep going, which is why it is worth paying attention to over the print.
Which women's gloves are best for pruning roses?
None of the stretch-fit fabric designs, and that is not a criticism of them. Thorns pass straight through fabric and through most cushioned palms, so rose pruning, brambles and blackthorn need leather or suede, and ideally a gauntlet long enough to cover the forearm. Keep a fabric pair for planting, potting and weeding, and a leather gauntlet alongside it for the thorny work. There is more on that split in our guide to the best gardening gloves for every job.
Do the RHS gloves come with matching accessories?
Both RHS prints, British Meadow and British Bloom, have a companion Kneelo kneeler in the same design, so gloves and kneeler can be bought as a set. That pairing is the more useful gift of the two possible combinations, because anyone kneeling for an hour at a time benefits from the kneeler more than they do from another pair of gloves, and buying the two together means it gets used rather than remaining a good intention.
Written by David Hurrion
David Hurrion is a trained horticulturist, teacher and journalist who has worked on nurseries, taught at colleges, and edited some of the nation's leading gardening magazines. He chooses everything Norman & Vera stocks, and makes practical gardening videos for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.