I've tested 6 of the best gardening gloves - these are the pairs I'd recommend to protect your hands while you prune, dig and weed

These gardening gloves are a great choice if you want an all-purpose pair of gloves that you can use for a variety of different gardening tasks.

Made of lightweight elasticised cotton, which is breathable so hands don’t get too sweaty, the gloves are easy to get on and offer a snug fit, though not overly tight. The palms are nitrile-coated, which has a slightly textured finish, so they give a good grip if you’re using tools and equipment

The gloves feel light and non-bulky when you are wearing them, and there was no problem doing fiddly tasks (like planting seeds) which require a bit more dexterity. Pruning was not a problem either, with the tight-knit material giving some protection from sharper thorns.

The high-vis fluorescent yellow colour of these gloves was a big bonus too, making them easily spotted in the shed or if dropped in amongst greenery (as often happens with me).

The problem with many gardening gloves is that they feel bulky and cumbersome once they are on, which can be tricky when you are doing finer work, such as potting up delicate seedlings.

Described as with ‘second skin’ comfort, these gloves are indeed ultra lightweight, so once they were on felt comfy and gave a good ease of movement, so fiddly tasks weren’t a problem.

With nitrile-coated palms and fingertips, the gloves gave a good grip, even when they were wet. Though snug-fitting, the gloves were easy to get on and off and had extra-long cuffs that gave added protection to wrists.

While not waterproof, the gloves did dry quickly when they got wet. Another bonus of the nitrile coating covering the fingertip area means that it keeps out mud when you are working in the soil (unlike many fabric gloves) so you don’t end up with mud-engrained fingernails.

For an everyday pair of gardening gloves at a great price, these gloves are hard to beat. In grey woven polyester with cheery green rubber-coated palms and fingertips, they feel a little more heavy-duty than a lightweight pair of gloves, so don’t offer quite the same dexterity, but on the plus side, they do feel quite tough and durable so offer a little more protection if doing harder tasks like pruning or heavy lifting.

The rubber coating gave a good grip when using tools, equipment like a mower or a strimmer or when lifting garden pots, and the stretchy material meant that the gloves didn’t feel overly tight or constrictive when wearing them.

Thoughtfully-designed and exceptionally well-made, these gloves are pricier than most, but make a great investment buy if you’re after gloves that will last longer or want to buy them as a gift.

Designed specifically to fit women’s hands (and in a choice of four sizes), the gloves are nicely padded with microfibre and foam palms, spandex and foam backs, plus elasticated neoprene cuffs with Velcro straps to secure them. Though they are a little fiddly to get on, once they are on, the gloves do feel quite stretchy and flexible, and your hands are protected.

The extra design details are everything with these gloves. There is a padded panel across the knuckles to protect against knocks or thorns, they have reinforced fingers (so not ideal for fiddly work), while the thumb and two fingers on both hands have a touch screen material so you can look things up or answer your phone while wearing them. The gloves come in a choice of green or plum colourways and arrive in a cotton drawstring bag (so good for gifting).

Choosing the right gardening glove for the task is key. So when it comes to jobs like pruning roses and cutting back brambles or heavy lifting jobs like landscaping or clearing garden waste, then a heavy-duty glove is a must.

These knitted poly/cotton gloves felt super-snug and comfy, with a tight snag-proof weave and elasticated cuffs that give extra wrist protection. The palms and fingertips have a dual-layer latex coating that is tear-resistant to level 4 (industry rating) as well as being resistant to abrasion and puncture, which made them perfect when cutting back some particularly thorny roses in my garden.

The latex coating of the gloves has a roughened finish that gives an enhanced grip for when handling tools and equipment, while there is a reinforced layer between the gloves’ thumb and forefinger for extra rip-resistance.

While bulkier to wear than lighter-weight gardening gloves, so not suitable for finer work, the gloves still felt pretty stretchy and flexible, so great for tougher jobs.

There are still plenty of gardening jobs that need doing over the winter months, and it’s no fun if your hands are freezing. As the name suggests, these ‘Warm ‘n’ Waterproof’ gloves are specially designed to keep hands dry and warm when tackling wet and cold gardening tasks.

Fleece-lined, so hands stay toasty, the double-dipped latex outer layer makes the gloves completely waterproof, so you can tackle all that the weather throws at you, with no water seepage at all when my hands were submerged in a bucket of water.

In a cheery pink and green colourway, the latex covering on the palm and fingertips has a slightly sandy texture that gives a really strong grip, while between the thumb there’s an added layer for extra durability. A carabiner clip is a useful addition to keep gloves paired together when not being used.

While the gloves are bulkier than lightweight summer-wear gloves, during the winter, there aren’t as many fiddly tasks to be getting on with, so having the extra warmth and protection of these gloves will be an added bonus.