I also use Showa gloves for all round work, do take them off though for tying in clematis etc and treated us both earlier this year to the Tough Touch gauntlets for spiky hedge pruning - they're great. I've got small hands as well (6 1/2) and find the small size Showa ones fit really well, even the fingers. I've also got their thermal ones for winter working. I was given some Gardeners Barrier Cream for Xmas and find that really good as well - as long as I remember to put it on first thing!
Blimey, does anyone actually wear gloves for sowing and pricking out, if so, how do they manage?!
For work like pricking out I use disposable Nitrile gloves.(you can use them more than once if you are careful!) I have to be careful as I get eczema and very dry hands so they are ideal. Also have several pairs of Briers gloves of different sorts.
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
For a womans garden gloves to keep hands as clean and comfortable as possible I bought some very useful inexpensive gloves from from Wilkos. (If you can get to Wilkcos) their gloves came in a pack of three . I find them very good for basic weeding. They really fit my hands.and are very flexible. They are the first womans garden gloves I have found comfortable, so many garden gloves seem to have been made for men. My first pair are a bit battered now but they have been worked hard.
In the previous garden, I used to use an old pair of rubber gloves that were used for washing up, and I’d have to throw them away after that because they got horrible and sweaty and really difficult to pull off. All I ever did was trim privet and cut the grass.
Now I’ve got a pair of Briers for £1 in the sale, a pair of verve, 70p in the sale, and a random pair that someone gave me for free, similar to the briers pair. Bargains are my thing! The 70p ones are better for pruning etc; they are closer fitting. The other ones are for anything thorny or getting my hands in the soil. They need a wash though, not as breathable as they once were.
Blimey, I’ve bought Showa gloves and they lasted about a month, no better than cheaper ones... I must be very heavy handed.
I have to wear gloves so I have tried all sorts with little luck including VERY expensive RHS ones that still didn’t last long. Now I have reluctantly accepted that it’s best to buy cheap and throw them away - I get through about 12 pairs a year!
oh, and nitrile gloves for delicate work that I reuse for ages.
Regarding rough hands, I took the advice on another recent thread and bought some Neutrogena Norwegian formula hand cream (Concentrated) £3.99 from Boots, apparently lasts for 200 goes and I'm finding it really good, my hands are much improved.
Certainly do not buy those really cheap fabric gloves which fall apart and whose hands do not fit anyone.
Oh yes, the cheap fabric ones. Not too bad for the money and often the least bad fit that I can find in the shops around here - at least they're only too wide in the fingers, not too long as well.
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I have to be careful as I get eczema and very dry hands so they are ideal.
Also have several pairs of Briers gloves of different sorts.
They are the first womans garden gloves I have found comfortable, so many garden gloves seem to have been made for men. My first pair are a bit battered now but they have been worked hard.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
Now I’ve got a pair of Briers for £1 in the sale, a pair of verve, 70p in the sale, and a random pair that someone gave me for free, similar to the briers pair. Bargains are my thing! The 70p ones are better for pruning etc; they are closer fitting. The other ones are for anything thorny or getting my hands in the soil. They need a wash though, not as breathable as they once were.
oh, and nitrile gloves for delicate work that I reuse for ages.
Regarding rough hands, I took the advice on another recent thread and bought some Neutrogena Norwegian formula hand cream (Concentrated) £3.99 from Boots, apparently lasts for 200 goes and I'm finding it really good, my hands are much improved.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'