GREEN QUEEN
‘A revelation!’ Gardening fans rave about ‘UK first’ product that protects your hands
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WHAT do you do when you just can’t find a pair of gardening gloves to fit you?
Well, if you’re Rachel Eunson - you just invent them yourself.
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In the space of just one year she’s created an entirely new brand of gloves called - designed specifically for women.
And they’ve even been awarded Gardeners World ‘Best Buy’ status .
So to celebrate International Women’s Day, Sun Gardening spoke to the entrepreneur, 25.
She said: “When covid hit, I moved back in with my parents in Orkney and I got stuck into the old veg patch.
"I completely fell in love with gardening and thought I’d buy myself a nice pair of gloves.
GARDENING
“But they were either pink and frilly, or not hard wearing enough, or crucially, didn’t fit.
“Men tend to be wider in the palm with shorter fingers, whereas women generally need something a bit more slender, with longer fingers.
“So I decided to create my own. I worked in hospitality before, so I’d never done anything like it.
“And up until the launch it was such an uphill battle - there was so much to learn. I'd advise anyone thinking about it that you need a lot of self confidence. I just had to figure it out as I went along.
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"There’s also a lot of support out there to take advantage of. But just go for it!”
In a UK-first, Rachel’s Feverfews are available in four sizes - from XS to L, and she’s sold over a thousand already.
My mini greenhouse trick gives you a head start on spring gardening - don't toss your recyclables, it's great for greens
Fan Michelle Stratford said: "After years of giving up and pulling badly sized gloves off and resorting to getting hands mucky, these gloves have been a revelation!
"The phone screen finger works! I have done quite heavy digging and clearing with them and they are excellent.
" I still use floppy heavy duty gloves for clearing thorny brambles etc, but for anything else these are a winner."
Another female entrepreneur is Sue O’Neill, owner of
She said: “We clothe twice as many women customers as men and when 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 and restaurant chefs and TV presenters, who are all male - but the actual cooking in most homes is by women.
“With gardening, the celebrity designers, TV presenters and often Head Gardeners, are also largely male - while most of the real-life gardening, in all types of gardens, is done by women.
“ But led by TV programmes such as Gardeners’ World, horticulture is racing ahead on the path to gender parity."
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SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Famous female gardeners include...
- Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) Garden designer who’s herbaceous drifts with hot and cool colours went against the stuffy formal bedding of the age. Authored ten books.
- Vita Sackville-West (1892 - 1962) Garden designer - remembered for the celebrated garden at in
- Kitty Lloyd Jones (1898–1978) was one of the first women to professionally train as a horticulturalist.
- Beth Chatto (1923-2018) English plantswoman, garden designer and author.
- Carol Klein (b. 1945) Gardening expert who was named as the RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero 2023.
TIME TO SHINE
Garden Designer and BBC Gardeners Question Time panellist has said that although the horticultural industry has come far since she started 30 years ago - it has not come far enough.
She told Sun Gardening: “There are more women garden designers than men, although you might think otherwise if you look at the high-profile figures in the media.
“On site, designers have responsibility for overseeing the build of a garden and most landscape contractors are comfortable with this.
"However, I still find that when a garden is being constructed by builders, the designer-contractor relationship can be a challenge.
“Because garden designers are usually self-employed, and there is a lack of formal career structure, inequity is difficult to tackle.
“There is no one body with the oversight of industry and the power to bring about change.”
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At - run by Professor Jane Barker - over 75 per cent of the workforce are women. Prof Barker said: ““As a women entrepreneur who 27 years ago set up a business in the horticulture trade, I now see women working ‘across the field’.
"My Production Manager, Sales Manager and over 75 per cent of my HQ are women and the wider skills bought into the business are pre-dominantly by women.
"So there's a greater balance and amazing breadth of contribution.”
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FLOWER POWER
OUR friends at are offering all our readers an amazing deal.
Buy one £19.99 Rose Raspberry Royale bare root and get TWO FREE!
The 'Raspberry Royale' is a beautiful dwarf patio rose variety known for its masses of blooms which in turn create wonderful displays all summer.
This plant is happy when grown in bed and borders, while equally being at home in a pot for those with less space on their hands.
To take advantage of the offer visit and use the code SNHK100 at checkout. Valid until March 31.
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WIN!
Now it's officially SPRING! are offering FOUR lucky readers everything they need to get their fruit and veg going in one lovely bundle.
Get a £22.99 strawberry pot, £4.99 seed tray, £19.99 grow set and a £3.09 scoop.
To enter visit mcb777.fun/ELHOCOMP
Or write to Sun Elho competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.
Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 23/03/24.
Terms and conditions HERE
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LEARN!
Q. My daughter has a dog and it has been eating some of these berries and was wondering if you can identify and would 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 absolutely fine. Poisonous plants for dogs to look out for right now are daffodils, crocus, Cotoneaster berries, rhubarb, tulips and snowdrops.
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SAVE!
Use this £10.49 to get your seeds in the soil
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Or go for which is just £1!
READ MORE SUN STORIES
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THIS WEEK'S JOB
If you sow onion sets now, you should start seeing a crop from July onwards. Initially cover with fleece to protect from birds.
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TOP TIP!
If you start off your Dahlia tubers now in pots in a greenhouse or indoors, you’ll be able to plant them out much sooner.
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