Beautiful flower arrangement, including the special flowers I asked for to be included, for my…read moreDad's funeral. Excellent service. Thank you.

This is a smart little florist sourcing its flowers from Holland, and staff there go out of way to…read moreget your arrangement just right. As you'd expect, they cater for all occasions. They can dress a hotel for a wedding reception, decorate a marquee for your celebration, and design beautiful buttonholes for your wedding, working with ideas you already have - or coming up with ideas for you if you're stuck. Depending on the season and the type and duration of the event, they know what type of flowers will hold up to the rigours of the day - and can avoid those that will die in the wrong conditions.

My friend got her wedding flowers from Barkways last year and they gave an amazing service right…read morethrough. She had something quite specific in mind and they listened to her requests, came up with some really cool ideas. They really knew their stuff and also helped her to find ways to keep the costs down. Everything on the day looked perfect and they still looked fresh at the end of the night. Luckily I got to take some home!

Clinton's is located practically next door to Card Centre on Albany Road, with only a disused shop…read moreseparating them... surely there is some logic in this, but I have to admit that it escapes me! Both shops sell almost identical product ranges and share the same commercial emphasis, clearly concentrating most of their effort on the sale of greetings cards. There's not much to distinguish one from the other in my opinion, as the majority of the stock is either of the 'humorous' variety, or of the schmaltzy candy-coated kind, (flowers, kittens, stylised teddy bears, and utopian rustic scenes that don't exist in hardly anyone's reality... you know the type!?... all replete with cringe-inducing idylls, and sentimental verse that are the poetic equivalent of the two times table... yeah, that sophisticated!) Other items for sale include cuddly toys, gift wrap, and plastic helium balloons... has no-one told these people that the reserves of helium on planet earth are close to running out? And I won't go into the fact that plastic comes from the petro-chemical industry, as I think we all know the score where fossil fuels are concerned... Card Centre probably wins the price war on the whole, but has sacrificed quality, (and several thousand trees), to achieve a pretty shallow victory! The only thing that I can say in their favour is that a lot of their cards are so flimsy that, at least, they probably use less trees than Clinton's. Hardly a heartfelt vote of commendation! My vote, on Albany Road, is actually with the Vision 21 Gift Shop. Not only can you buy more interesting cards here, but you can probably pick up a half decent present to go with it... and the cause is 100% more worthy!

Sometimes I find myself quite disppointed with Clintons. They seem to forget sometimes what it is…read moreto be a card shop. They focus instead too much on little toys and fluffy things that I really don't want. I guess that there must be a market for them but not for me, thanks. Paperchase has upped the stakes in the greeting card game, making it hard for any other shop to do quite so well. Clintons, in particular, often gets stuck between the high level, expensive, nice-looking cards and the absolute trash of cheap shops. This Clintons, then, was a nice surprise, offering a good range of cards and generally reasonable prices. The staff here are much nicer than they are at the shop in town too, so if you live around this area, save yourself a trip into town to be insulted by the service. Come here and be pleasantly surprised by your whole experience.

Indigo Florists is one of two great florists on Splott Road. Indigo is in many ways the more…read moreprogressive and modern of the two, and also sells a small range of iconic gift items, like the Betty Boop ornaments that seem to be so popular at the moment. These compliment the flowers and plants that they carry really well. Indigo Florists carry top quality blooms and specialise in hand tied bouquets that look amazing. As with most florists they cater for special occasions including; weddings, funerals and special events such as parties, as well as providing a top notch service to corporate clients. There's another quality florist in the area, which happens to be a couple of doors down from Indigo. Rolfes The Florists is a flower shop that also stocks a good selection of plants as well as locally sourced fruit and vegetables. Both of these outlets offer a quality service, and although they compete in many respects, both shops also offer something a bit different to the other. Where the flowers are concerned there's little to distinguish the two however. Both carry good quality blooms and cater for weddings, funerals and corporate clients as well as other special events. Whilst Indigo carries a range of iconic gift items Rolfes do something similar in that they sell a selection of cuddly toys that can be sold with or without a flower arrangement. Indigo is the only one of the two that offers balloons.

This is a wonderful little shop on Llandaff Road, very near to Chapter Arts Centre, and not too far…read moreaway from the main Cowbridge Road which heads straight through Canton. It's an easy place to find, but sadly can be easily missed if you don't know that it's there. This shop sells a great range of Fairtrade and worldly items. From incense to clothes, bags to gift items. If you've ever been to a folk festival and wandered longingly around the stalls wanting buy everything, then this is the place to come. The busy displays and bright colours capture something of the market stall atmosphere, even when it's raining outside. They even manage to have the right smell: far away places mixed with a slight musky aroma. For yourself or for gifts, this is a truly charming shop where you'll not be likely to go too far wrong. It's a very friendly space, and a joy to pop into regularly, or at least stare longingly through the window. Unique. Ish.

Fair Do's is probably my favourite shop in Canton for buying gifts for my friends or even my own…read morehome. It's a lovely shop, well stocked with environmentally sound products that have all been sourced from fair trade companies. I set up projects in India, when I was in my twenties, for Trade Not Aid, the non exploitive trading arm of The Body Shop International, and so I am keenly supportive of all who operate with the same ethos. But, even if I wasn't, I would still shop here. They have a great kids section as well as plenty of affordable high quality gifts for adults. The cards are pretty good too. The people who run the shop are lovely too. It's always really peaceful, and you are allowed to browse for as long as you like without interference, but help is on hand if you need it.