If you have a garden, a windowsill, or a home, go here. The shop is full of beautiful furniture,…read moretrinkets, and decorations, and the nursery is a green thumb's fantasy. My favourite finds were vintage birdcages, beautifully unique chairs, and some lovely lamps, while a friend coveted a silver set of candle holders. The nursery section was lush enough to inspire the least enthusiastic of gardeners to get their hands dirty. There is an excellent café inside the shop if you need a coffee break during your browsing.

We all know a factory outlet tend to be cheaper than buying from a department store and Sheridan at…read moreMt Gravatt is no different. You can buy Sheridan towels and bed linen at Myers, David Jones or Harvey Norman but you could save up to 50% on the same item if you buy from the Sheridan outlet at Mt Gravatt. Plus there's the bonus of easy parking at the Mt Gravatt homemaker centre and the Sheridan outlet stock a wider range of products. The easy going staff don't even seem to mind me burrowing my face in their soft Egyptian cotton towels. If you have zero tolerance for using scratchy, faded towels after bathing, then the Sheridan outlet is the place to go at least once a year to maintain a fluffy supply without blowing your budget.

Consensus among historians states that the biblical Garden of Eden was probably somewhere in modern…read moreday Iraq. I think Mappin's on Montague Rd has a legitimate claim to being a contender for God's original garden. Hey, they even have the infamous snake/s there, plus a number of fruit trees (which you are probably forbidden from tasting too, unless you're willing to buy it ;) These guys are water plant specialists, with their massive aqua-filled terracotta pots home to oodles of different aquatic plants, like water lilies and edible water chestnuts. I bought one of the latter once and put it in a water feature in my yard. After a few months we yielded a few delicious chestnuts. They also have an impressive range of cacti and succulents, which are easy to care for, decorative and make a great gift. The innovative decorative pieces designed by local artists are also good present fodder, but be prepared to pay in the hundreds for some (they are after all 'art').

A green thumb I am not but I read a mythical legend that Zanzibar Gems are house plants that are…read moreincredibly hard to kill. They only require watering once a month! And thus begins the journey that led me to the West End wonderland that is Mappin's Nursery. And can I end that train of thought by pointing out that it is a freakin' nursery less than 4kms from the CBD?!?! Okay. Now that I've got that out of the way. Mappin's is a green haven on Montague Road that have a range of plants and not to mention helpful staff willing to answer my silly questions such as, "What make great house plants? Can you show me your suggestions?" and I didn't dare tell my helper that I kind of like plates as saucers when she handed me a plastic saucer for my newly acquired plant saying, "I don't understand kids these days using plates as saucers. I can't let you do that." Did I spray myself with "Psuedo Hipster" this morning? How did she know?!? I'd looked for this particular plant at a household name hardware chain (it rhymes with running), and while I paid a fraction more for the same size plant at Mappin's, the plant itself looks healthier and you bet your bottom dollar I feel better (okay, maybe a little smug) that my money went towards a fantastic local business. Plus I feel like the extra coin went towards the handful of advice I was given about caring for the plant. When I enter the home owner game I'll be back at Mappin's asking them for their green thumb advice on a range of gardening 101. Oh and finally nabbing one of the beautiful Magnolia trees they sell!

Making a conscious effort to avoid Bunnings and support the little guys (even though True Value…read moreHardware is a chain) I went here one Sunday afternoon hoping to get some information on compost bins and perhaps buy a couple of small plants. It's a fairly small hardware store, so I shouldn't have been surprised to find they only had three compost bins in stock, but I was disappointed with the lack of range and also the lack of interest displayed by the salesperson. The compost bins didn't have prices on them and the salesperson could only give prices "off the top of his head", which didn't really make me want to buy from there. I also went to look at some small flowering plants inside, but didn't find anything of interest and found it a bit expensive. I went there just for the nursery side of things, so can't comment on the hardware section of the store, but would recommend going elsewhere for plants and gardening needs.

We wanted to purchase some rocks for our driveway. We were really pleased with the level of…read moreservice we received from True Value Hardware Wellers Hill, particularly in relation to providing us with samples so we could make a better decision. Once we decided, we booked in a time for delivery and the guys showed up on time - bonus! - however, there was a slight problem ...they delivered the wrong rocks!! We called them back once we realised and while they couldn't rectify it immediately as it was a busy Sunday (and their supplier was closed), it was pretty close! Craig (CJ) came back at the end of the day to have a chat, understand the issue and agree a way forward. He arrived bright and early Monday to remove the incorrect rocks (without us even hearing him!) and returned as agreed to re-lay the correct blue stone. He was extremely apologetic, did this all on his own time, and did it all with a smile on his face. Yes, it would have been terrific if this hadn't happened in the first place, however, we all know things can go wrong! The thing we liked the most was the great customer service we received from CJ as soon as he found out we hadn't received what we were supposed to! Right from that point he was only focused on rectifying the situation and ensuring we were satisfied customers. For that, we'd like to say Thank You!