The best gardening gloves

A closer look: Despite the heavy leather, the shaped thumb and fingers leave enough feel to grip loppers or tie in a climbing rose. After a wet session, let them dry slowly at room temperature rather than on a radiator, which keeps the cowhide supple. When buying as a gift, a snug size gives better control than a roomy one.

A closer look: Tighten the wrist strap before clearing hedge cuttings or leaf litter so debris can’t drop inside. Split leather dries stiff after a soaking, so let wet gloves dry slowly at room temperature, away from the radiator, and flex them in your hands afterwards. Being heat resistant, they also cope with a wood stove door or tending a fire pit.

A closer look: Sizing needs a little care: measure across the palm in centimetres, compare it with the size chart, and follow the maker’s advice to go one size up. If they’re a surprise, check the size on the gardener’s current pair on the sly. They arrive in a gift box, so wrapping is as simple as it gets.

A closer look: Before ordering, wrap a tape measure round the widest part of the palm: the single size covers palms of roughly 8–11 inches, which fits most adults but may feel roomy on very small hands. They earn their keep stacking logs and hauling firewood as well as pruning, and wet suede keeps its shape best if left to dry slowly, away from a radiator.

A closer look: Each pair is a different colour, so they’re easy to share out: one for whoever does the weeding, one for the potting bench, one kept in the car for muddy jobs. The thin knitted liner leaves enough feel in the fingertips for pricking out seedlings, and they’re made to go through the wash again and again rather than being binned.