Best gardening gloves 2021: 7 top designs that look as good as they grip

Buying the best gardening gloves can be just as much of an essential purchase for any gardener as choosing a set of great tools. Whether you’re a keen gardener or prefer to just potter with your plants outdoors, picking the perfect pair for your pinkies can be a tricky task to tackle. 

With all the choice available, it can be easy to find a set that is either pretty or functional, yet rarely both. And if you've ever tried to wrestle your best secateurs while wearing oversized (or undersized) gloves, you'll know that finding a pair to fit your hands is also a huge consideration.

So if you're looking for the best gardening gloves that your money can buy, you should always consider a range of factors before you take the plunge - these cover size, durability, grip and last but not least, their overall look. 

We’ve had a good search of the net to find the retailers offering the best gardening gloves available now and have flagged up our favourite picks below. We've pointed out the pros and cons of each to help you make your choice and included handy deal widgets on each, that scan the net daily list to find the very best price available. 

We've also included top buying tips to help you find the best gardening gloves at the bottom of the page, if you want to delve deeper into finding your ideal pair. So the sooner you scroll down to discover the best gardening gloves for your needs, the sooner you can return to tending your garden in complete comfort.

The best gardening gloves 2021

If your garden features a wide range of growth, from thorny bushes to oversized hedges, then these hardwearing gauntlet gloves are the perfect pick for you.

Material

Made from suede and cotton, with an extra-long cuff to protect your wrists and arms from scratches, thorns, stings and irritation, these gauntlet-style gloves are brilliantly durable. The thick suede fabric on the palms and fingertips will keep your skin safe from any harm, while the pretty pattern keeps them from looking too menacing.

Extra benefits

While it may not be high on your list of priorities when you're looking for a set of the best gardening gloves, a good-looking pair that also works well is a win-win in our eyes. We love the fresh lemon print on these gloves, which makes us think of warm, Mediterranean sunshine on even the gloomiest of days.

Burgon & Ball’s award-winning Love the Glove range is popular for a reason: with its smart, sleek design and durable, yet flexible construction, they're a great pair to wear for pretty much any garden job.

Material

Featuring an artificial suede palm padding, soft cotton backs and a real leather trim, these gardening gloves manage to do two things at once: they will provide plenty of protection for tougher tasks that may involve wood, stones and thorns (such as when you're learning how to prune roses), but still remain flexible enough for those gentler jobs.

Extra benefits

These gloves don’t just look great, they’re designed with a host of clever technical details that make wearing them much more comfortable as you work. These include a handy wrist strap for keeping dirt from falling inside and a special mesh material between the fingers to stop your hands from overheating.

Gold Leaf gardening gloves are endorsed by the RHS, so you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re getting a great product that works well for a wide range of gardening tasks. You’ll be able to tackle tricky pruning tasks with ease if you have a pair of these to wear.

Material

Made from leather, these gardening gloves offer a high level of protection against thorns and other garden materials. The leather is treated to ensure it is water resistant and the gloves are incredibly warm and hardwearing, so they’re a good choice for autumn and winter when the weather may be on the cooler side. You may find these gloves have a snug fit when you first use them, but the leather will soon soften and stretch to give you the perfect fit.

Extra benefits

The extended cuff on the gloves means your wrists and lower arms will be protected from thorns and branches, so you don’t have to worry about getting scratched when carrying out your gardening tasks. The cuff is also roomy enough to ensure you can pull it up over your sleeves too. 

Also available in a smaller ladies specific size.

If you're looking for a pair of gloves that will keep you covered for most garden tasks, from how to get rid of weeds to repotting, pruning and cutting – then this bargain buy could be perfect for you.

Material

Featuring tough palms that protect your hands from scratches and scrapes, these jolly gloves are made from machine washable, durable suede and cotton, so you can keep them looking good as new, even after a tough round of weeding. 

Extra benefits

The wrist and thorn guards offer extra protection from unruly garden growth, while the lining is super soft and comfortable. And if you're in the market for a colourful design that makes you smile, you can't go wrong with this great value pair.

Ideal for those with smaller grips, these gardening gloves have serious reinforcement in the form of leather padding and long cuffs – perfect for even the toughest of tasks.

Material

These gloves are great for tackling thorny plants and doing heavy lifting of stones and branches, thanks to the soft waterproof leather on the palms. The cuffs are made from linen and they offer light and breathable protection for your arms - ideal for those more involved garden tasks.

Extra benefits

While they may be on the pricier side than others, these elegant gloves are handmade in Shropshire so if you like supporting local goods, they're well worth the investment. Also, as they're handmade, each pair is unique with a slightly different design.

If you tend to be always checking you phone as you do the gardening, then save yourself the hassle of having to constantly remove and replace your gloves by investing in a pair with touchscreen friendly-fingertips.

Material

Featuring reinforced faux-leather padding on the palms to help protect your hands from common garden irritants, like thorns, nettles and stones, this pair also boasts a handy velcro strap to ensure a snug fit on your wrists. Furthermore, the canvas back has plenty of stretch for a comfortable and pliable fit.

Extra benefits

Remove the inconvenience of having to de-glove to answer your phone or Google what kind of bug you've found on your plant with these touchscreen gloves. They're compatible with any smartphone screen, though you might want to make sure they're relatively clean first before you swipe.

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

Material

With a flexible nylon and elastic knit construction, these gloves are perfectly 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 handy non-slip barrier, so you won't lose grip as you work. 

Extra benefits

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

How to buy the best gardening gloves

So much more than just an accessory, the best gardening gloves are a must for any comfortable outdoor work. A great pair of gardening gloves are so much more than just their looks though, so there are several things that you should look out for when you’re buying.

Material

We’ve listed what materials each pair of gloves we’ve featured is made from to give you a clear understanding of the conditions they’re suitable for. Generally speaking, more durable materials like leather are perfect for people whose gardening tasks include cutting back trees and bushes and moving stones. 

If you tend to stick to lighter garden 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 a little 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 scratches and scrapes and will prevent your sleeves from getting dirty, too when you're using the best garden shears or the best loppers. 

They do tend to make movement a touch more difficult, though, so do consider whether you’ll need that extra protection or not. If you have the budget, it’s worth investing in both a long and short pair of gloves so you can swap between the two depending on the task.

Extra benefits

In truth, 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 materials, for example, are extremely welcome in the summer months when your hands and palms can get easily sweaty.

Size

Always, always check the size of the gloves before you buy. Too small, and they're unusable. Too large and they make every task virtually impossible. Look for a pair that give a neat fit, akin to a pair of woolly gloves, to ensure you can move your hands freely and comfortably as you work.