Best gardening gloves 2020: 7 stylish and functional picks

Choosing the best gardening gloves for your outdoor maintenance, whether you’re a keen gardener or simply a dabbler, can be tricky. There’s so much choice out there and designs are often pretty or functional – not both at the same time. You need to consider a range of factors before you buy, including material, durability and grip.

We’ve been busy browsing the top retailers for the best gardening gloves on sale now, so you can get on with tending your garden without the fuss of scrolling through endless choices. Read on to discover our favourite gloves, and head to the bottom of the page for more tips on buying.

The best gardening gloves 2020

If you enjoy every garden job, from tackling thorny bushes to gentle weeding, then these hardwearing gauntlet gloves are the pick for you.

Material

Featuring an extra-long cuff to protect your arms from scratches, stings and irritation, these gloves are super durable. The palms are made from microfibre and polyurethane for soft but strong padding, while the back and cuff are 100 per cent cotton for comfort.

Extra benefits

It’s not top of the list of priorities when it comes to gardening gloves, but a good-looking pair that also works well is a star buy in our eyes. We love the lemon print of these gauntlets, which will cast our minds to sunnier climes on even the gloomiest of days.

Buy the Sicilian Lemon Gauntlets

Burgon & Ball’s award-winning Love the Glove range is renowned for a reason: with a sleek design and durable yet flexible construction, it’s great for almost any garden job.

Material

With artificial suede palm padding, soft cotton backs and a leather trim, these gardening gloves manage to do two things at once: provide enough protection for tougher tasks involving stones, wood and thorns, but still be flexible enough for those daintier jobs.

Extra benefits

These gloves don’t just look great: they’re also designed with extra technical details that make gardening more comfortable, including a wrist strap for keeping dirt from falling inside and a mesh material between the fingers to stop sweaty hands.

Buy the Burgon & Ball Love the Glove Deco gardening gloves

If you prefer to dabble in a spot of light gardening – including weeding and repotting – then this bargain buy could be perfect for you.

Material

While more hardwearing designs have tough palms that make it difficult to fully bend your fingers, these lightweight gloves are made from a flexible cotton and polyester blend, so you’ll be able to carry out the most intricate tasks. However, you might find that these gloves wear into holes faster than heavier alternatives: frequent exposure to wet conditions will weaken the cotton over time.

Extra benefits

The gloves feature hi-grip spots on the palms, which are handy to help you keep hold of tools. But the biggest draw of this product, other than the comfort level, is the price: with three gloves for £9.99, it’s well worth considering these, even if they’re only used for light work.

Buy the Botanical Floral Garden Gloves

At the top end of the budget, these gardening gloves have serious reinforcement in the form of leather padding and long cuffs – perfect for the toughest of tasks.

Material

Soft waterproof leather makes up the palms of these gardening gloves, so they’re great for tackling thorny plants and doing heavy lifting of stones and branches. The cuffs, made from linen, are light and breathable on your arms, but they still protect from scratches and irritation.

Extra benefits

These gloves are handmade in Shropshire, so if you like supporting local goods, they could be worth the investment. You’ll also get a slightly unique design. The elegant floral pattern also makes these a thoughtful gift for garden lovers with a traditional style.

Buy the Floral Leather and Linen Garden Gloves

If you need to be constantly connected to your WhatsApp group/podcasts/playlist/Google search (delete as appropriate), a pair of touchscreen gloves are for you.

Material

The reinforced faux-leather padding on the palms of these gloves protect against common garden irritants, including thorns, nettles and stones. A velcro strap makes for a snug fit on the wrists, and the canvas back has stretch for a comfortable and pliable fit.

Extra benefits

Take away the inconvenience of having to de-glove to change a song on Spotify or Google what kind of bug you've found on your plant with these touchscreen gloves, compatible with any smartphone – though you might want to make sure they're relatively clean first.

Buy the DIGZ 7607-23 Large Women's Gardening Gloves with Touchscreen Fingers

Another all-rounder of a product, these gloves from Gardena offer protection from all but the toughest of garden jobs.

Material

The flexible nylon and elastic knit of these gloves make them suitable for delicate work that requires dexterity, like weeding, potting and pruning.The non-toxic latex coating also protects palms from getting wet and creates a non-slip barrier, so you can work safely.

Extra benefits

Ever get sweaty hands from gardening in dense gloves? The material used in this pair is breathable, so they're perfect for working in hot weather as well as cool. 

Buy the Gardena Gardening and Soil Gloves

How to buy the best gardening gloves

Far from just an accessory, gardening gloves are essential for comfortable outdoor work, and there’s a couple of points you need to look out for when you’re buying:

Material

We’ve included a breakdown of the materials in each pair of gloves we’ve highlighted so you can get an understanding of the conditions they’re suitable for. Generally speaking, more durable materials like leather are great for people whose gardening tasks include cutting back trees and bushes and moving stones. If you’re only looking for gloves for lighter tasks, like weeding and repotting, then you can get away with gloves made from cotton and other such materials – though there’s no harm in going for medium padding, just in case.

Coverage

Some of the gloves we’ve chosen as our best buys have extra long cuffs, which are particularly useful if you’re dealing with trees, shrubs and thorny plants – they’ll protect from nicks and will prevent sleeves from getting dirty, too. They can make movement slightly more difficult, though, so do consider whether you’ll need that extra protection or not. If you have the funds, it’s worth investing in a long and short pair of gloves.

Extra benefits

Generally speaking, you don’t need to pay too much attention to the extra, hi-tech features some retailers add to their designs: unless you’re a gardening pro, you likely won’t find much use to them. Some features, though, can increase comfort levels when you’re gardening. Breathable technologies, for example, are particularly welcome in the summer when palms can get easily sweaty.

More to read: 

• Read up on garden ideas with our best gardening books 
• Looking for the perfect gift? Our gardening gifts guide has it covered
• Snap up a pair of best secateurs to go with your new gardening gloves