Secret Garden Florist is a pretty lovely little shop, and the previous reviews have inspired me to…read morelove it even more! Although not a standard combination I actually think that selling flowers, hats and fascinators in the same shop somehow makes sense. Maybe because the fascinators are so flowery, or maybe it just feels right to see so many pretty things in one place! This shop has recently opened and has yet to put up a sign, but the interior is very inviting, with a minimalist whitewashed look, a large display of hats and fascinators and some beautifully presented flowers. The hats and fascinators are large and flamboyant and adorned with feathers flowers and bows. Perfect for the races (if you're into that sort of thing) or a wedding. The milliner who creates these wonders does a bespoke hat-making service and specialises in creating pieces for weddings. Bouquets are made to order and are sure to impress!

This beautiful little shop is a brand new edition to the sweet little run of shops along Roundhay…read moreroad in Oakwood. Being fortunate enough to work practically in the forest (my work base is right out in the countryside) I have to catch the bus through Oakwood on a Mon-Weds. As such I'm always staring out of the bus window, eyes glazed over in the morning light, trying not to fall asleep. One fine morning I realised that this place was re-opening and so decided to nip in on my way home! What a delight. It's a bit of a random mix, flowers and fascinators, but then if you are a creative person you'll know what it's like to have more than one outlet for your imagination. The shop may only be in its infancy, but that doesn't mean there are few items to browse - oh no. With a back wall dedicated to a range of exquisite fascinators one could simply stand for an age taking in all of the detail. There are large ornate pieces, with huge illustrious peacock feathers and bright colours, to a more modest set of hair comb based feathered creations. Literally something for everyone and with a price range of £30 - £100+ this could not be more true! There are also a selction of delightful mini felt top hats decorated gloriously with a range of feathers, and my favourite piece of all, an utterly beautiful fascinator hat. That last piece is not for sale, as it was a competition piece, but you really must go in to see it. It's a sort of 20s style hat, exquisitely crafted, and won its crafter a place as one of 12 finalists *in the world* for one of the largest hat making competitions held worldwide. Wow! The crafter, also owner of the shop, is a truly lovely lady as well and more than happy to chat about her creations. If her fascinator artistry is anything to go by her floristry will certainly be exquisite too. She has a workshop inside the building as well, crafting on site, and can make up specialist hats and bespoke flowers to any specification. If you are thinking of saying it with flowers, or perhaps fancy an outing to the races, you now know your first port of call! I highly recommend a visit to this wonderful shop. I know I'm looking forward to watching it flourish!

Brian's is what I imagine to be a typical market florist - a stall selling a range of brightly…read morecoloured flowers emitting a gorgeous, refreshing scent into their modest surroundings. Brian's actually sells more flowers and a wider variety than most florist shops, which oddly I feel tend to be a bit minimalist flower-wise. The flowers here look happy and healthy and are affordably priced. There is a nice range to suit most tastes, though nothing particularly exotic or unusual. They also sell a small range of pretty pot plants. If you're looking for a reasonably priced gift or want to brighten up a dull room, Brian's Florist may well be worth a look.

Brian's is a lovely florists selling not only bunches of flowers but pot plants and herbs. At this…read moretime of year there are plenty of bunches of daffodils for sale and at Brian's they are market price, only £1.50 for 3 bunches, but of quality equal to any fancy shop-florists. A bunch of daffodils is a bunch of daffodils so why pay more? They have neat bunches of roses and pretty bouquets of lilies and other wonderfully colourful flowers that I don't even know the name of. Oh how out of touch we are with nature in this technological age! If you fancy a brush with nature and genuine Yorkshire folk then you can pick up pots of primroses for a mere 50p at Brian's!

I think you can tell the class of a place when you wander by the window and the displays are so…read morecared for that they edge onto the street. This is certainly a flower shop that does more than sodden bruised bunches akin to a back street market. I think it's becoming my phrase of choice, but what you pay for is usually what you get. £3 for pizza means stomach ache the next day. £3 for flowers means they have already begun to wilt and won't last a few days. On the other hand you can spend £30 on flowers and have them last for a month and make that special someone swell with surprise/gratitude. Cheesy as it is, it works, and this is the place to achieve that. Care and effort goes into every bunch and display, with knowledgeable and helpful staff, to make sure you get exactly what you want - even if you don't know what you want yourself!

Anastasia Flowers has a large shop for a florist with a huge variety on display, from cheerful,…read moresimple yet pretty bunches of roses to beautifully-crafted bouquets. Their bouquets show real confidence and artistry without looking OTT or trying too hard to impress. They somehow appear stylishly simple yet beautifully elaborate at the same time...I think it's their careful choice of colour, often pairing completely different flowers of the same colour together, which looks attractive and striking, or knowing when they have just enough variety in a bouquet. Bouquets start at about £25 but for this price you know you're buying quality and considered design. The shop also sells some gorgeous pot plants and gifts, such as soaps, candles and vases. They specialise in wedding floristry and also sell award-winning wedding cakes, come of which are on display in the shop and look rather impressive. Anyone looking for a quality florist will likely be impressed by Anastasia Flowers and those looking specifically for flowers or a cake for a wedding should be in safe hands.

I hadn't actually realised that Dasiy Chain is somewhat of a chain store for florestry, which now…read moreseems foolish given that the word 'chain' is even in the name of the place. Even so, it was with delight that I discovered their somewhat more high end Daisy Chain shop here on Street Lane. Having just nipped in to Share for a look I immediately turned to have a gander in here, after all, Mother's Day is coming up and I needed some inspiration! I was standing outside just taking down some notes when one of their shop assistants (I assume) came out to ask me a little abruptly if I needed any help. I'm not sure if she felt I was loitering, or was merely a little over keen to serve, but I smiled and said I was just browsing - to which she let me be, which was nice. I wanted to get some price ideas on their offerings but I didn't really want to engage her in a conversation as to whether or not they were cheaper than the other local florists! So, I kept on with my pleasant browse and wandered in. Their displays and flowers are truly beautiful. They had some gorgeous bamboo and bulb arrangements in some lovely vases, some beautiful little flower pots for £5.95 and inside the store they had a huge range of gorgeous lilies, orchids and other beautiful flowers. The scent was utterly divine! They also had a number of lovely items, such as vintage style bird cages, which I assume would make for some gorgeous displays. As far as chain stores here in Leeds Daisy Chain truly has to be one of the premier places to go for flowers. Utterly lovely!

If you order from this florist you must be aware that what they deliver may bear no resemblance to…read morewhat they advertise on the website. We ordered a baby girl package but what was delivered was in a plain bag with no baby reference. Apparently they were out of stock of the 'special' bags but did not think to contact us. All that was offered was to go and collect what they had delivered, to take out a separate balloon or to refund us for the cost of the bag. The customer service can only be described as pathetic and I would definitely not recommend or use again.

This shop is great for card shopping, with a huge range and some very pretty and unusual designs…read moreincluding gorgeous stylized landscape prints that I was tempted to buy for mother's day but it's become a tradition in my family for me to hand-make cards, so however nice a bought one it always seems like a bit of a cop out! Yes the bath bombs are just yummy - the same kind they sell at Rose & Co from Bomb Cosmetic they look like miniature cupcakes and smell edible too! Gift wise it's a bit limited, as most of the shop is dedicated to cards, but what is there is pleasant, especially a set of body lotion and hand cream with an absolutely scrumptious smell. They also sell delicious-looking chocolates behind a glass counter that can be hand-picked to guarantee the satisfaction of any sweet tooth. If you see Send it With Love as a gift shop you may be a little disappointed by the choice, but if you see it as a card shop with a few gifts and chocolates thrown in for good measure you probably find it to be just the ticket!

It was a pretty drizzly day to go out looking for Christmas gifts, but it had to be done, so I…read morestopped by Oakwood on my way home from a half day at work. It can be a total pain doing this sort of thing - I don't drive so it's buses all the way. And the buses back to Headingley specifically are a pretty tricky thing. Anyhoo, I'd seen some exciting shops and hoped it would be worth all the bus trauma. Oh wow. As soon as you walk in this shop you are hit with the most delectable smell. It's both edible and bathable at the same time - sweet and delightful. This, I discovered on further investigation, was down to two things. The first, a glass display counter of the most exciting looking chocolates - they even had some shaped like mini chocolate brownies! Thorntons isn't a patch on these delights. And secondly, a unit filled to burst with the loveliest looking bath bombs. If you have ever been to Rose and Co. you will be able to picture the kind I am talking about. This delightful card shop, which is in essence what it is, goes more than the extra mile. Not only will you find beautiful cards, gift bags and the like, but so many extra cute treats you won't know what to do with yourself. Seriously, they have candles, piggybanks, chocolates, bath bombs, calendars, decorated notepads.....(fade to black). Need a shiny birthday gift? Here is your shop. Done!

Floral Expression is a little florist and card shop with a spacious, calm and pleasant feel and of…read morecourse a gorgeous smell! I can't help but love florists and this is no exception - there's just nothing like the smell of freshly cut flowers - every time I go in one I just want to hang around all day browsing and inhaling. Floral Expression also sells cards. They have a limited variety but most of them appear to be handmade and much more attractive than those you'd find in say, Clinton Cards. The woman behind the counter seemed lovely and helpful and though I didn't buy any flowers, I'm sure anyone choosing a bunch of flowers here would experience excellent customer service.

I didn't even need flowers, much less a day of browsing in Meanwood, but I happened upon Floral…read moreExpression and from the shop window decided that I really ought to go in and have a look. There were some lovely displays and so I went in to just have a little look around. Inside they had a range of different bouquet displays and floral arrangements - all of which appeared to be carefully arranged and of a great quality. The hyacinths in there smelt beautiful! I found that they do lots of arrangements to order, including birthday, special day and wedding day arrangements. There are also lots of fixed price arrangements to choose from! If you live near by and need something special I'd give these guys a call for sure.

I ordered from NY, US. They hade a Beautiful arrangement sent to my family in Leeds this week…read morefollowing my cousins funeral service. I was looking for a local florist so I e-mailed and they answered immediately and were very helpful and friendly. They sent out a beautiful, fresh arrangement first thing the following morning. I would highly recommend.

Arts and Flowers was positively heaving with browsers when I happened by one Friday afternoon in…read moreCrossgates. I could see it from a distance, as I approached, and being the nosy sort decided to check out the fuss. A gorgeous array of blooming wonders spilled out into the street almost before me. This gorgeous flash of green, dappled with many other hints of colour, boasted a hoard of lovely plants and flowers for some great prices. There was a huge section devoted to the more potted variety, primroses, pansies and so on, with the lilies and other floristry flowers being placed in water buckets in front of little store. As the owner was busy serving, and I was only there for the browsing, I didn't disturb her and just had a quick nosy around. Other items, such as Mother's Day heart plaques and fresh eggs (?!), also appeared to be on sale so this is certainly a florist with a difference! To summarise: This vibrant florist has a large range of lovely items at great prices.

Finally a florists that isn't so expensive I begin to consider cutting flowers from my neighbour's…read moregarden in the night, instead of buying them, when I want to send some as a gift! Bartle's Florists is very affordable - probably because its situated in the Merrion Centre outside Morrisons and the super-cheap home ware store - but still has beautiful flowers. I saw a lovely bunch of white lily's for less than £20 last time I wandered by. They do a delivery service that can get flowers to your loved ones in 3 hours (presuming they live less than 3 hours away)! Perfect for any accidently forgotten anniversary or birthday. They also sell balloons to add an extra touch to your gift.

Say it with some flowers, go on spoil your partner, friend or yourself. I'm not the biggest green…read morefingered person you'll ever meet but I do like a nice bunch of hand-tied flowers or spring tulips, lush! Bartles Florist is a good place to find such little packages of flowery delights. It's an independent family business and has been since 1969. Of course they are on the Inter Flora band wagon so that makes delivery no problems whatsoever. Every occasion is well catered for and they even have a fair trade flower section. Now a mental note should be taken here from Mr future Melissa, I really really like the Sunflowers. Got it? The staff are nice and helpful and if you really struggle between your Birds of Paradise and Azaleas, they'll be more than willing to help you out. You can also match them up with choccies or Champagne and you'll even get same day delivery if you get your orders in before 2pm. So go on dig deep and enjoy.