our Foxgloves heritage
higarden is the new home of Foxgloves — built on 26 years of glove expertise, and a very itchy origin story.
it started with a sketch
Foxgloves were the brainchild of Harriet Zbikowski, founded in 1999. As a landscape architect and professional horticulturist, she yearned for a glove that wouldn't dull her sense of touch. She tried every garden glove on the market and never found one that fit well enough to wear all day.
Her search led her somewhere unexpected: dress gloves from the 1950s. The classic dress glove was cut to fit snugly, offering remarkable sensitivity — but the fabric was no match for a morning spent digging in the soil.
So she set out to make the glove she wanted, and the one she suspected other gardeners wanted, too. She tested fabric after fabric for abrasion resistance until one blend outperformed them all: a four-way-stretch knit that fit like a second skin and shrugged off the dirt. She sketched her fantasy gardening glove, had it made, and Foxgloves was born.
through the years
90s
the state of gardening gloves in the ’90s
Not so different from today: the market was saturated with baggy, flimsy, disposable designs that overlook gardeners’ realities. Harriet Zbikowski, a horticulturist from upstate New York, had been searching for secure, supportive alternatives for months when she found surprising inspiration in a thrift store: opera gloves.
1999
Foxgloves is born
Harried spends years pillaging vintage shops for opera gloves. The accessory from the 1950s became a blueprint to keep dirt out—her dream gloves wouldn’t stop at the wrist. She sketched them with longer sleeves and they would be soft and stretchy enough to wear all day and fit snugly to keep fingers useful.
With help from her retail fairy godmother, Hanky Panky founder, Gail Epstein. And her partner, Chance O'Connor.
2010
Foxgloves earned its reputation
the slow way — one gardener telling another. The gloves found their way into House & Garden, Real Simple, Oprah Magazine, and Better Homes & Gardens.
2005
a quiet cult favorite
Mostly, though, they stayed a best-kept secret — found in good garden shops and passed along by word of mouth. Decades later, customers were still writing in to sayi love my Foxgloves, often about the same pair they'd bought years before.
2014
The gloves glow on broadway
They even went on stage, worn in the US and UK productions of Wicked andThe Lion King.
2024
Alli discovers Foxgloves at a local nursery
When she learned the company was based just 55 minutes from her Hudson Valley home — and that Harriet, after a quarter century, was ready to retire — she wrote to her. Harriet wrote back.
2026
second-generation female owned
in January 26, Foxgloves officially became higarden, and Harriet and Chance get to lay down their gloves, while keeping the business in good hands. Puns always intended.
2026
Martha magic
Martha Stewart wore a pair on television. and we're told she uses Foxgloves personally.
the torch passes with friendship and love
a letter from Harriet
It's been difficult trying to find the right words to announce my retirement from Foxgloves. After all, it's been my life's work for the last 25 years.
Happily, this isn't a note about endings. Foxgloves is now higarden, and will operate under a new owner. Alli is a fellow gardener, a loyal customer, and the closest I can get to keeping Foxgloves in the family. Rest assured — these gloves will be in good hands.
Thank you for the decades of joy I've had turning a sketch of my fantasy gardening gloves into a product worn by people worldwide. Here's to many more years of gardening together — in gloves that fit.
with gratitude,
Harriet Z., founder, Foxgloves
same gloves, new name
The gloves themselves haven't changed: same fit, same fabric, same makers. Foxgloves gloves are now sold exclusively here online. We are removing our presence from Amazon, which they make extremely difficult.
What Harriet started, we carry forward: protection is designed into everything we make. Longer cuffs that cover what other gloves leave bare. Lab-certified UPF 50+ that blocks 98% of UV rays. A snug, women's-first fit that keeps fingers useful for intricate work. And goods made to be washed and worn for years — the oldest pair we know of has been going strong for more than a decade.
where we're headed
The heritage line is growing — new colorways twice a year, hand-crocheted sun hats from Bali, and pieces designed for the way gardeners actually work. You'll find us at gethigarden.com and in the small shops you already love. Not in big boxes, and not on Amazon — that's on purpose.
Harriet said it best: here's to many more years of gardening together — in gloves that fit.