‘A revelation!’ Garden enthusiasts are enthusiastic about the ‘UK first’ product to protect their hands

WHAT do you do when you just can’t find a pair of gardening gloves that fit you?

Well, if you’re Rachel Eunson, you just make them up yourself.

11

In just one year, she created a brand new glove brand called Feverfew – specially designed for women.

And they’ve even been awarded ‘Best Buy’ status by Gardeners World.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Sun Gardening spoke to the 25-year-old entrepreneur.

She said: “When the coronavirus crisis hit I moved back in with my parents in Orkney and got stuck in the old vegetable garden.

“I fell completely in love with gardening and thought: I’ll buy myself a nice pair of gloves.

“But they were either pink and full of ruffles, or they weren’t durable enough, or, crucially, they didn’t fit.

“Men tend to be wider in the palm with shorter fingers, while women generally need something slimmer, with longer fingers.

“So I decided to create my own. I’ve worked in the hospitality industry before, so I’d never done anything like this before.

“And up until the launch it was an uphill battle; there was so much to learn. I would advise anyone thinking about it that you need a lot of self-confidence. I just had to figure it out as I went along.

“There is also a lot of support you can take advantage of. But just go for it!”

For the first time in the UK, Rachel’s Feverfews are available in four sizes from XS to L, and she has already sold more than a thousand.

Fan Michelle Stratford said: “After years of giving up and taking off poor sized gloves and getting hands dirty, these gloves have been a revelation!

“The phone screen finger works! I’ve done some pretty heavy digging and clearing work with them and they are excellent.

“I still use flimsy, heavy-duty gloves for clearing thorny burrs etc., but for everything else these are a winner.”

Another female entrepreneur is Sue O’Neill, owner of Gender of garden clothing.

She said: “We dress twice as many female customers as men and if you add to that the number of women buying for male partners, we could almost consider ourselves a women’s brand.

“Gardening is like cooking. At the top of the pyramid you have the celebrity chefs, restaurant chefs and TV presenters, all of whom are male, but the actual cooking in most homes is done by women.

“In gardening, the famous designers, TV presenters and often head gardeners are also largely male – while most real gardening, in all types of gardens, is done by women.

“But under the leadership of TV programs like Gardeners’ World, horticulture is moving forward on the path to gender equality.”

11

TIME TO SHINE

Garden designer and BBC Gardeners Question Time panellist Julia Sargeant has said that while the horticultural sector has come a long way since it started thirty years ago, it has not come far enough.

She told Sun Gardening: “There are more female garden designers than men, although you might think differently if you look at the high-profile figures in the media.

“On site, designers have the responsibility for overseeing the construction of a garden and most landscape contractors are comfortable with this.

“However, I still find that when a garden is created by builders, the relationship between designer and contractor can be challenging.

“Because garden designers are usually self-employed and there is a lack of a formal career structure, inequality is difficult to tackle.

“There is no one body that oversees the industry and has the power to bring about change.”

11

Bee Dalefoot Composts – led by Professor Jane Barker – more than 75 percent of the workforce is female. Prof. Barker said: “As a female entrepreneur who set up a business in the horticulture sector 27 years ago, I now see women working ‘all over the field’.

“My production manager, sales manager and more than 75 percent of my head office are women and the wider skillsets bought into the business are predominantly female.

“So there’s a greater balance and an amazing breadth of contribution.”

11

FLOWER POWER

OUR friends at YouGarden are offering a great deal to all our readers.

Buy a £19.99 Bare Root Rose Raspberry Royale and get TWO FREE!

The ‘Raspberry Royale’ is a beautiful dwarf patio rose known for its masses of blooms which in turn provide beautiful displays all summer long.

This plant is happy when grown in beds and borders, but is also very much at home in a pot for people with less space on their hands.

To take advantage of the offer, visit www.roses.co.uk/SNHK100 and use the code SNHK100 at checkout. Valid until March 31st.

11

TO WIN!

Now it’s officially SPRING! Elho are offering FOUR lucky readers everything they need to get their fruit and veg started in one beautiful bundle.

Receive a €22.99 strawberry pot, €4.99 seed tray, €19.99 grow kit and a €3.09 scoop.

To enter, visit www.thesun.co.uk/ELHOCOMP

Or write to Sun Elho Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.

Please include your name, age, email address or telephone number. UK residents 18+ only. Ends at 23:59 GMT 23/03/24.

Terms and conditions HERE

11

TO LEARN!

Ask. My daughter has a dog and he ate some of these berries and was wondering if you can identify this and do you know if it would be harmful to the dog? Patrick, Oxford, via email.

A. This is a Berberis Darwinii and your daughter’s dog should be fine. Poisonous plants that dogs should be aware of at this time include daffodils, crocus, Cotoneaster berries, rhubarb, tulips and snowdrops.

11

TO RESCUE!

Use this B&Q dibber from € 10.49 to get your seeds in the ground

11

Or go for Asda’s, it’s only £1!

11

THIS WEEK’S VACANCY

If you sow onion sets now, you should see a harvest from July onwards. Initially cover it with fleece to protect against birds.

11

TOP TIP!

If you now plant your dahlia tubers in pots in the greenhouse or indoors, you can plant them out much earlier.

11