Gardening: work gloves that really work.(Buyers Guide)

One pair of gloves usually doesn't do for all types of garden chores. You might want thin cotton gloves to transplant seedlings. To prune roses, you want thick, sturdy gloves.

We asked gardeners to help us test nine different pairs of gloves for a variety of delicate and heavy-duty chores. Two, by Wells Lamont, a leading glove-maker, were real standouts.

One (at right) is a suede glove, Wells Lamont 1029, about $8 (800 323-2830; www.wellslamont.com). It protected from thorns and stood up to heavy-duty jobs, yet was flexible enough for finer tasks such as planting crocus bulbs. After machine washing and line drying, it remained soft and flexible.

Gardeners with large hands will find the men's Wells Lamont 1023 equally versatile. That model, about $12, is of somewhat thicker suede. After washing, the gloves shrank a tad.

There were trade-offs with most other gloves. Here's our reading on your choices:

Cotton. These don't cost much (we paid $2), but they don't do much. They slip on tool handles, get wet easily, and don't fit particularly well. Ours, an Ace Hardware jersey fleece, shrank so much, even when washed in cold water and line dried, that they no longer fit most of our gardeners.

Foxgloves (888 322-4450, www.foxglovesgardengloves.com) are much pricier at $25. Our gardeners liked the dexterity the gloves provided ...