We visited Hillside on Saturday past, to have some lunch and take our little boy to see Santa. We…read moredecided to come because it's great to visit and spend a few hours. This is so much more than just a boring garden centre, because I really would not be excited about visiting a garden centre! Hillside really have gone the distance to make this an interesting place to visit, regardless of whether you are into gardening, or not. Aside from the massive range of plants, shrubs and gardening accessories, Hillside also have a large section selling fish from Maidenhead Aquatics, which is lovely to have a look around. They also have a massive indoor shop, selling everything from standard gardening items, to barbecues, water features, and even homeware. They had the place all done up for Christmas and it really got us all in the festive spirit, it looked absolutely magical. The Santa's grotto was in aid of Clic Sargent, so as well as getting a great festive experience, we were also helping to support a great cause. There was a bit of a wait when we arrived, however we simply took our ticket and went off to get some lunch at the on-site tearoom. I had been to Hillside a few times before, however this was my first time visiting the tearoom, and this exceeded our expectations by far. I was expecting tea/coffee, tray-bakes, and potentially some pre-packed sandwiches, however I couldn't believe the fantastic full menu they had on offer, hot foods such as gourmet hotdogs, burgers, pies, quiches, and any type of sub or sandwich you wanted. We had a sandwich and a toastie and the quality of the food was excellent. We had so much fun at Hillside and will look forward to coming back again soon!

My parents are both big green fingers and loving daughter thatI am *ahem* when they need a hand…read moregarden wise I'm often called upon to trek up to Hillside with them to help out with carting all the goods to and fro. (Thankfully aided by those huge trolleys they have!) Hillside is a great garden centre which stocks a massive range of anything and everything you could ever need for your garden. Hillside Nursery is now the biggest garden centre in Northern Ireland. It's located on the Doagh Road, Newtownabbey. It recently underwent a major renovation which saw the premises extending with a new car parking space, a lovely though expensive coffee shop and an indoor covered plant area. They really needed this new parking space as it used to be on a sunny Saturday the whole place would be totally packed out and often put people off visiting but thankfully there's room for everyone now. Happy gardening everyone!

The summer it opened, I spent an stupid amount of money in the Potting Shed, which I should point…read moreout is a shop rather than an actual shed. My garden was beautiful though, with hanging baskets and planters overflowing with lovely flowers and trailing things. And I had the most fab garden candles and lights. Come to think of it, where have all those candles and lights gone?? The Potting Shed sells everything you could need to creates your own hanging baskets and planters, but that's really not for me. What if I had to touch the compost, or saw a worm? Thankfully, they also sell the most beautiful ready made planters and baskets which are crammed with lovely things like trailing honeysuckle. Even better, when the next spring rolls around, you can bring in your empty basket or planter and they will fill them without you having to pay for the container. Perfect. They also sell compost, lawn feeder stuff and gloves for any crazy fool who does want to create their own little bit of nature. Here's the bizarre bit, they have recently started selling furniture. It's really lovely white painted furniture at very reasonable prices, but I still find it weird. But as long as they keep filling my baskets, I'm happy.

I ordered trees and hedging through Woodcroft Landscapes' online shop and was really impressed with…read morehow easy the process was. The plants arrived healthy, well-packaged, and exactly as described. It's clear their nursery stock is top quality and well cared for. On top of that, I've seen some of the landscaping projects they've completed, and the standard of work looks excellent, professional, tidy, and built to last. You can tell they take real pride in both the plants they grow and the gardens they create. Between the convenience of the online shop and the craftsmanship of their landscaping, Woodcroft Landscapes is a company I'd highly recommend.

From the owner: Whether you are starting from a bare area of earth or are looking for ideas to enhance your…read moreexisting garden, we can provide the inspiration, plants, trees and expertise.

This Flower room is adorable - not a very masculine word for me to be using but I think it…read moreperfectly sums up The Flower Room. It's the type of place you would go in to with your girlfriend, wife, sister or even mother and they'd point out all the flowers and trinkets and say, 'Awk isn't that cute?' to which you'd nod back agreeing. So what brought such a manly man like myself to The Flower Room I hear you ask? Well, I was looking for boxes, not manly wooden boxes but the wee cardboard types you can put gifts in. I thought The Flower Room would be a good bet to get them because they have a whole array of gifts arranged beautifully out the front of the shop. As soon as I walked in to the shop, which is a converted terrace house, I heard a big 'Hello' coming from upstairs and a 'Can I help you?' Kathryn the owner then rushed down to see if she could help in my quest for a box. She literally hunted in her storeroom to see if she could help me and when she couldn't she listed loads of other shops that I might be able to get the desired box. This was absolutely remarkable service. I actually ended up chatting to her for a while - she was telling me that The Flower Room specialise in Weddings but are busy for the impending Valentines Day as well as other 'flowery' holidays. The shop is beautifully arranged and I would suggest going in just to experience the warmth atmosphere on offer. They have a full range of gifts and a few garden products - The Flower Room is a shining example of a great independent business, forget buying bouquets online.

As per usual, I have one very happy mother! Mother's Day flowers went down a treat. Kathryn's…read moreflowers are gorgeous and you'll find other wee treats in her shop.

When I say that this nursery does THE best hanging baskets in Belfast, I promise you I'm not…read moreexaggerating. In fact, they're so good they supply hundreds of other outlets like Spar and Tesco. Oh yes, this is the flower and plant kind of nursery, not the kind which looks after your children. If you organised enough and visit the nursery around March/April time, you can order your baskets exactly how you want them and pick them up a few weeks later. Bespoke hanging baskets if you like. But if you're like me, you won't get around to it until it's too late to plant from scratch and will buy yours 'off the peg' and this is by no means a poorer option. The hanging baskets that are ready made up are nothing short of stunning - really full of pretty flowers and lots of hanging and trailing plants like honeysuckle. The sort of thing that helps you create a cottage garden kind of look without having to life a finger which works for me. Prices are really reasonable given the quality and quantity of flowers and plants you get - under £30 for a fabulous basket and less if you have managed to leave in your own empty basket in advance. Take a trip to Dundonald Nursery - you can wander through the huge greenhouses to take your pick and you an fool yourself that it's a really warm day. Don't leave it too late though, after mid May, there will be nothing left.

It's labelled as a Garden Centre, and they do sell plants and saplings, and Christmas trees at the…read moreusual time of year, but I think they could do a lot better in here. It's a local family run fruit and vegetable shop, but it's a bit old and tired. I know the important thing about a fruit'n'veg shop is the freshness and quality of the produce, and I will get to that, but I think if they gave this place a face-lift it would invite people in a lot more and encourage them to spend more. It hasn't changed in all the time I've known it. As for the produce, it's fine. It's quite well-priced too, reasonable and affordable. They don't do a massive wide-range of veg, you won't see anything unusual here, which is a shame because I think they would get more custom if they branched out towards being a little more 'gourmet' in their approach. For a local Fruit'n'Veg shop, it's fine.

I used Ferguson Flower for several years. I live in California and this florist is the one I used…read moreto send flowers to my cousin in Holywood, Co. Down. They were wonderful to deal with by phone and online. Their flowers were always exceptional. It appears they have moved/sold the company to Mimosa Florists. I found out when I went to order today. Knowing the Ferguson's like I did they are sure to be amazing as well. I hope I am correct and the Ferguson's don't mind: You can find Mimosa's site here: https://www.mimosaflowersbelfast.co.uk/. (02890) 604776. I'm ordering birthday flowers once again and I'll let you know how it goes. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this florist and all their affilitates for their wonderful customer service and quality flowers!

I may not speak for the entire female species, but I'm sure I speak for quite a large portion of us…read morewhen I say as a female I just love flowers, whether it's 'just because' or for a birthday or to say sorry, heck who cares? We love them any time, any place and where! I do anyway, I know that much! So it's invaluable having Ferguson Flowers in the mall to provide a great florist stop while you're about shopping. Ferguson has fresh new flowers delivered regularly to their shop so you can be sure of finding something pretty to decorate your home yourself or for buying a lovely gift for that someone special. Your safest bet for if you're stuck for a last minute present.