Great selection of plants (and trees which I was looking for). Friendly staff. Cheers.read more

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!

It's a garden centre. It's bank holiday Monday. I was expecting it to be mentally busy. It wasn't…read more Woodlawn is 5 mins from my house and it's the go to place for decent bedding plants and shrubs. I'm not much of a gardener as I have a regular rather expensive manicure so I usually direct operations and himself or the big son does the donkey work. I've bought plants before from Homebase but they're usually forced on and unless the weather is fairly mild they either die on me or don't thrive. I don't mind paying a bit extra for quality plus the guys in Woodlawn are really knowledgeable about horticultural stuff and are happy to give you all sorts of hints and tips about what or not to buy. The shop bit is pretty excellent and not at all necessarily garden related. They have stylish Pilgrim jewellery, scarves, Crabtree & Evelyn products, lovely gift ideas and a great range of Regatta outdoor clothing and wellies plus some locally sourced food products. They have a great range of garden furniture and barbecues if our weather ever allowed you to sit out and in a few weeks they'll have hanging baskets and ready planted tubs. They have a great restaurant too with comfy sofas and a nice view of all the plants and things. So I guess I have to give it a 5* rating as they really have thought of everything. Worth a visit if you're in to your garden and even if you're not the coffee is good

Used to be great for lunch but now can't help but feel they are trying to cut costs with things and…read morenothing special anymore. Salad with Panini is pathetic.

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.

Now I'm not an outdoorsy or garden kind of person, but every time I visit this garden centre, I…read moreresolve to go home and transform our boring patio and lawn into a overflowing cottage garden. Then I get distracted by the interior goodies. And the café. There's always next year to create that garden. Donaghadee Garden Centre is the ultimate treasure trove of lovely things for your home. Scented candles, oven gloves, cushions, little pieces of furniture. If you're a minimalist freak, it's not for you, but if you love a little bit of controlled clutter, then you'll be in heaven. There's Cath Kidston galore and lots of shaker style pieces like wooden signs and table cloths. But none of it is twee which is my worst nightmare. Oh and the café. I often go in swearing that I'll just have a scone, and then just cannot resist the unbelievably good chicken and broccoli bake. It is just so tasty and full of proper pieces of chicken and real ingredients, and comes with beautiful home made coleslaw and salad. Delish. So, for those of you who must buy stuff for the garden when you're in a garden centre, there are all kinds of plants and shrubs and compost and other dirty things that you need for digging about in the flower bed. Happily for me, there are also some very knowledgeable members of staff to help the clueless.

Christmas tree selection was good, Santa not on site today. Had coffee and some freshly baked goods…read more Got 2 bird houses and bird feed. Staff helpful in selecting the bird feed

Came here after hearing great great things from family in the area. We had the shakshuka and…read morecoffee. It was just amazing. And then we had desserts which was just out of this world. Stranfield we will be back

Vegetarian café with great food and ambiance (4.5/5 Green Stars)…read more We stopped here en route to Carlingford on a friend's recommendation and all three of us were very happy we did. The place is lovely - the café is filled with light and plants and the surroundings are beautiful. Mum is a picky eater but she relished the mushroom quiche and finished the entire piece even though it was huge! (Seriously - about three times the size of portions elsewhere.) My brother loved his herbed rice bowl and I liked the organic porridge with fruit and the pistachio plum cake. The only kink was that several items arrived much later than the food - the coffees, bread, and honey for my porridge (I had already finished my porridge by then). The store is filled with great stuff - fresh fruit and veg, and a good selection of some of the most ethical products. Weirdly, the Strandfield website contains no info other than an address, so you have to rely on reviews to get info in advance. The lunch menu is mostly comprised of sourdough pizza, salads (including a quinoa bowl and herbed rice bowl), and sandwiches - see menu photo. There are also lots of bakery items, including freshly baked scones, cakes and wheaten bread (which was really good - I bought one to take home). I'm giving Strandfield café 4.5 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, for these reasons: · I didn't actually notice at the time but the menu is 100% vegetarian! · Strandfield uses free range eggs from their own farm. · My porridge was made with organic oats · Flowers and plants in the café come from Stranfield's own nursery · The grocer sources local and organic fruits and vegetables along free range eggs, and organic health foods · The store stocks a really good selection of ethical goods - I could do most of my shopping here if I lived here. · Strandfield would benefit from providing more info (on the website or menu) on ingredient sourcing.