A few months ago I made an official complaint about the availability of small sized gardening gloves. I feel a little bit silly typing that. Really? Is that all you have to worry about? Boo diddums! The fact that I can’t easily find working gloves that fit is not an earth shattering problem, quite the contrary. Shame on me.
All the same, I am a professional gardener, of sorts, so why shouldn’t I have kit that fits? I am not alone, there are plenty of us Horti Heroines out there. When you look at available working clothing you would think not. One day, not so long ago, a plumber working at the same house as I was said to me “I didn’t realise that there was such a thing as lady gardeners”. Yes, quite true, although a perfectly affable chap he was amazed at my profession. If I had just beamed down from the Starship Enterprise he would have been less shocked. Let us just reflect on that a moment. Indeed. Quite.
After trying, yet again, to buy some new gloves at a certain well known chain of garden centres, I decided on direct, non violent action. I emailed the Managing Director of the aforementioned store, said my piece and sat back and waited.
It didn’t take long. The next day I had a call from one of the MD’s PR team. After an extended placating chat they promised to send me some “without prejudice” freebies and address the problem. Today I called into the same garden centre. True to their word they are now stocking small gloves, and proper hard wearing ones too. Not the ones that look pretty but are as useful as a chocolate teapot. So I would like to say thank you to them. Thanks for listening and thanks for doing something to redress the imbalance. It is much appreciated.
I didn’t set out to buy plants. Who does? OK, I do, but it isn’t always planned. True, the very fact that we visited not one but two places that sold them meant there was an outside (inside) chance that I would succumb. Really, it was inevitable. Today I have welcomed to the fold Scilla peruviana Carribean Jewels ‘Samphire Blue’ and Polygala chamaebuxus. I am sure they will fit in very well.
As I thought a photo of a pair of gloves or a, yet to be exciting, plant in pot would be a little dull, I decided to share a very undull hellebore with you. A picture that has nothing at all to do with this post. Any complaints, please email the MD.
Off The Edge Gardening 
That is a pretty nice Hellebore. Knowing how hard you had worked on organising your photos, I thought I would investigate and extract the name of the variety. Tomorrow I shall pester various people to see if they have a “Helleborus img_7410” available. The local DIY emporium sells gloves in sizes S through to XL. You should have said. (The local garden centre doesn’t but then they don’t sell flower pots either though I find that I can have cases of wine delivered there for collection at my convenience).
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Same here with the gloves and lady BS (can translate American slang if you like) what puzzles me -statisically there are huge numbers of lady gardeners who would buy smaller everything so they could handle it easily and… it doesn’t exist. Weird.
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This is what I said in my letter, they are missing a trick, think of all that lovely cash they could be making!
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Last summer, I finally discovered durable gloves that fit well and come clean with a rinse or four in cool water. Of course, I bought several pairs (I won’t say exactly how many). And of course, there are lady gardeners. How silly to think there wouldn’t be.
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Lovely hellebore and I share your problem regarding gardening gloves in size small. When I do find some I buy more than one pair at a time. Going directly to the top bod often produces results, it is the last resort to get us back on-line, and it works.
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I knew I was not alone, maybe I should have started a petition!
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That man did not engage his brain at all. I always need gloves with long fingers they are hard to find as well.
Stunning Hellebore
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One day, when we are rich and famous, we can have handmade, made to measure, gardening gloves, oh and a gardener!
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Good for You !!! Lots of us need a seize small in gloves and I mean proper hard working gloves. Another thing that always surprises me is the way the small size rubber gloves are high up on the display in the supermarket and the large size is low down, why?
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I’ve found that too! It is almost as if they are having a joke with us. 😦
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I have always found Showa gloves very good and they do small sizes. They are available online, I even treated my better half to a pair. (I know I spoil her!)
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You are a fine husband! Must look them up …..
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Showa gloves are fab, definitely the best! They do small sizes, you can wear them and do fiddly things as if you’re not wearing gloves, and they do stretchy thicker ones for cold weather. Can get them on Amazon, also on the Great Dixter website.
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Thanks Penny, will investigate.
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I did not even recognize it as a hellebore. Duh, now that I look at it. oops.
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Love the writing style! Totally agreed about the gloves! I have the worlds smallest hands and feet and can never find anything that fits! Gloves life off my hands, even child size ones! I am not sure how I ended up with such disproportionate hands haha
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Thanks 🙂 It seems that there are a lot of us about, glad to be in good company!
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Uh. I hate the term ‘lady gardener’. Or ‘lady’ anything for that matter. Well done for your gloves direct action!
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And me! and thank you
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