HMS Gardenia was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by William Simons and Company in 1940.

In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U-boats.

To meet this requirement, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whale catcher Southern Pride.

Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war.

Gardenia was laid down by William Simons and Company at their shipyard at Renfrew, on 20 September 1939 and launched on 10 April 1940.