A Garden of Possibilities

I am the kind of gardener that can go through almost a half dozen pairs of gloves in one season.  Some I lose, some I through away (more on that later) and some just seem to fall apart.  I’ve tried the generic, inexpensive cloth ones and also the expensive leather gloves that are ’made just for women’  but I could never find a pair that truly meets all my gardening needs until this season.

You see, I like to really dig around with my fingers when I’m gardening so any glove that has a seam on the tip of the fingers will invariably be ripped after a few sessions in my garden, it doesn’t seem to make a difference what kind of material they is made from.  I also have a tendency to come into contact with poison ivy, admittedly  more often than a knowledgeable gardener should.  My Connecticut garden used to be full of poison ivy which I’ve worked hard at removing but every once in a while I still find a stray patch or two.  I am highly allergic to it so if I even think I may have inadvertently touched poison ivy while weeding in my garden or working in a client’s garden I immediately through away my gloves (then I reach for my Poison Ivy Relief soap followed by a dose of Technu).  In a bad year I can go through several pairs of gloves in ‘poison ivy advoidance’ alone.  That adds up to a lot of money if you are constantly throwing away expensive gloves.

Inexpensive gloves are typically not a bargain.  They are ill-fitting and poorly made and don’t hold up to the rigors of use in my garden. I also like to be able to really feel what I’m doing in the garden so I find that thick leather gloves, which often do not fit me properly, are too cumbersome.  It’s like wearing oven mitts or a thick pair of winter gloves.  I find that tasks which demand a greater level of manual dexterity, like pruning or weeding, are almost impossible with thick gloves.  And I hate that slick, slippery feeling leather gloves get once they get wet.

Atlas Nitrile Garden 370 Gloves

When I was at New England Grows, a regional trade show for green professionals, I happened upon the booth for Atlas Garden Gloves.   I stopped to talk to the sales guys and they offered me a pair of blue nitrile gloves.  They helped me find the right size, apparently the gloves should fit snugly, and told me the nitrile is almost indestructible.  And on top of all of that, the gloves are pretty inexpensive, under $5.00 a pair.

I’ve worn my Atlas gloves for about three months now and I love them.  The palms and fingertips where the nitrile coating is applied are waterproof and the rest of the glove breathes so my hands don’t get too hot.  Because the nitrile lining is so thin, I can even pick up small seeds while wearing them. 

The gloves are also durable.  I’ve put them through the typical rigors of gardening and washed them frequently and they are as good as new.  I have to admit that if I’m pruning roses or other thorny plants I sometimes pull on a heavy pair of gloves right over the Atlas ones.  Once I’m done with the prickly jobs, I take off the heavy gloves and use just my Atlas ones again.

 If you’re looking for some new garden gloves I highly recommend these ones.  Do you have a favorite pair of gloves you wear while gardening?  I’d love to hear about them and why they’ve become your favorites.