If you're an avid gardener or even just an armchair gardener I'd suggest you ditch the local…read morefranchises and their overpriced wares and instead head to Mclarens nursery. They cater for every style of garden from the traditional small bedding plants to colourful exotic grasses, they even have a huge section devoted to trees. Frequented by landscape gardeners and the general public alike, this is the place to go for good quality plants and value for money.

From the owner: At McLaren's Nurseries Ltd you will find all of your plant needs. A massive range of many different…read moreshrubs, perennials, conifers, grasses, fruit bushes and trees, climbers, bamboo, Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Roses. A family run buisness we now span 50 acres and are a plant lovers paradise!

Far back in the mists of time when I were a lad, bread were tuppence a loaf and everythin' were…read moremade o' wood (and how many more clichés can I cram into this opening sentence), you could go down t' street t' 'ardware store and buy a penn'orth o' nails and still have change for a bag o' crisps and a bottle o' pop. Now, thanks to the giant orange monster that is B&Q (Home Depot to transatlantic chums), I have to get in my car and drive several miles to a humongous warehouse, where I am forced to buy a box of 100 that will, having used 5 or 6 of them, forever after sit on a shelf gathering dust and slowly rusting until either the sun goes nova or I suddenly develop a need for that particular size and type of fastening once again. That's assuming they have the particular item in stock of course; it wouldn't be the first time that I've had to drive to one of the other B&Q stores to find what I'm after (my record is three). I'm being a little unfair on them for comic effect here - there's no denying that B&Q and their main competition Homebase are filling a niche in the market by providing practically all your DIY and hardware needs under one roof; but at the price of forcing smaller ironmongers out of business. If you're a tradesman with a trade account, or if you're just embarking on a major domestic refurbishment, this should be your first port of call. But years later, in the back of a kitchen drawer, I guarantee that you'll come across a little plastic box full of some miscellaneous widgets whose purpose and reason for buying you have long forgotten.

B&Q are the last refuge of the desperate…read more Men and women carrying small rubber parts or lengths of pipes that only a couple hours a go were pouring water into their kitchens. I have been one of these lost souls. Trying to save a Hogmanay party as I drove at breakneck speed to this B&Q with portions of my kitchen sink plumbing my hand. Furiously looking for the right size of "o" ring to match the parts. Until I found out that my kitchen pipes were National Hungarian sizes and B&Q only stocked Euro sized rings. Such is the world of pain and disappointment that the B&& can unleashed on you. The ads make this place look all happy and full of people bettering themselves. In truth, most B&Q's are where you find folks literally trying to keep their heads above water. The staff are the recipients of the most asinine questions. Can I paint my car with this? How long a pipe do I need? Will this be bright enough for my patio? I understand why they have a look of pain whenever approached by a member of the public. They make these stores big. Vast repositories of tools and materials. When unearthed centuries from now, our descendants will think we worshipped copper piping and hand tools, as we flocked here on weekends to tithe and toil. Do I really need to tell you what to expect at a B&Q? Enough stuff to really screw up your weekend. That is what you will get. If you think you can just buy a bathroom suite and one will magically appear in your home. I want to live in your world. Don't get me started on the Gardening section. Dismemberment "R" Us. Why four stars - cause it is a great improvement over the old inronmongers. Where pensioners disguised as store staff would hurl abuse and questions at you simultaneously. While they make fake attempts to find things that they know they do not have, since your broken item was made after 1940 and they only have parts for things made before that. So just remember, it could be worse.

I had my first run-in with this place roughly ten years ago…read more I always thought it was pretty junky shop, but a quick stumble later over a length of plastic chain they had running through the legs of tables, I ended up owning a really ugly broken lampshade. I handed it back to the shop assistant (worst job title ever in this place) and vowed to never return to this store. My wife returned recently since we were desperate for some new lighting in the new house. She was trying to find out if they could order the items she had found in the catalog and had to listen to the asinine talk between two of the "un"assistants. If you hate yourself, wish to inflict pain on others, have an in-law that you want to punish with a really ugly item of lighting, or have too much time on your hands and want to be ignored by imbeciles. Head On By. Masochists, I have found your haven.

This is a fantastic shop with really helpful staff. I recently got all my lights there for my home…read morewhich is now featuring on my builders website as he loves the completed refurb of my home. The catalogues in store have a fantastic selection. I bought a range of lights from a basic cheap light for my son's playroom through to crystal chandelier at a four figure sum. I spent several hours in this shop just looking at the catalogues over a few days, before ordering and again, staff were friendly and not pushy. Everyone comments on my lights now. I have nothing but praise for this shop. Thank you

Sorry Bo-Concept - but I really was not impressed…read more Yes, you have a lot of attractive furniture. Yes, some of your smaller homeware pieces aren't too overpriced (especially in the sale). But that's where my positives stop. First up, for a so-called upmarket furniture store, I thought this place was actually really grubby. A bit of floor mopping wouldn't have gone amiss, and you'd have been wise to have removed the used coffee cups from your £400 dining tables. Secondly, your staff were not welcoming. We were given some really dirty looks by a certain member of your staff, and that was even before I'd (quite loudly) complained about the aforementioned coffee cups. And thirdly - a piece of your pretentious £350 "artwork" (you know the type, where someone has typed out a lot of cliched so-called life advice on a canvas in different fonts) had a pretty serious spelling mistake in it. And don't try telling me that was intentional. Next time I want to spend a large chunk of my hard earned cash on some furniture - I won't be doing it here.

Ah, The Bo Concept. I've always gazed in those hallowed windows wishing for the day to come where I…read morecould spent 50 quid on a trendy cushion. Went in for the first time today because after reading those last wonderful reviews, I was overcome with morbid curiosity! Poe-faced Concept doesn't fail to disappoint on the arrogance front - although I wasn't given the cold, hard stare I expected from staff, I was largely ignored by them, which suited me fine since I could act like a fly on the wall and be left in peace. I obviously look poor - that's fine guys, it's entirely true! But you can't condemn a girl for dreaming! Since I've been subtly branded a poor working class girl, my cankered fingers had to surrepticiously reach for the price tag...I had to stop my jaw from dropping when I saw it was 150 quid for an EX DISPLAY lamp. Yes, that's right - Ex Display. Bugger off. Even if there ever comes a day when i have money to burn frivolously on items such as these, I doubt I would ever bother. Sure, they looked pretty but seriously, get real. If you were loaded, some trendy items in here may appeal - some of the stock is undeniably beautiful. Unfortunately, this place lacks the innovation and laid back vibe of Habitat, nor does it possess the charm and imaginative quirk of its West End rivals. It announces new arrivals in the window like we should roll out the red carpet for their overpriced (but, got to admit, nice) sofas - there's just something a bit off about this place. By all means go for a browse as they have some lovely stock but interior design competition has sprung up all over the place. So although Bo Concept may have been top dog a few years back, it's going to have to change its stand offish aura before it can attract a wider audience. And as Eleanor said, the richest people are quite often the least likely to flaunt it, so never judge a book by its deceptively dog-eared cover. You'll lose business if you do.

Breakfast facilities etc. Brilliant buffet fry up drinks. A bit pricey on some things in store. Has…read moreits bargains too. But lovely and great quality stuff.

How do you describe a place like this?…read more First it is next to Ikea - that Swedish Monolith of low priced furniture. Ikea is the type of place where you enter and immediately think that this place could change your life for the better. Just buy a couch and set of throw cushions and you could be as happy as a Swede. Dobbies is similar in scope. It reminds you that there is a big world outside of your living room and you have been neglecting it. You should have been in the garden - digging, weeding planting and feeding the birds. Why have you been playing Xbox? Don't you know that your lawn needs feeding? Ikea reminds you how shit your life is - Dobbies tells you how shit your garden is. How can they call this a Garden centre though? Yes, it has plants and all things plants related but it also carries a lot of other stuff. Why sell meat in a Garden Centre, or coffee, or any of this other stuff? In some sense it may be better to call this the gift centre of Dobbies. You would not go here to buy a pound of coffee for your morning cup but you may pick up a bag of expensive specialist coffee for a friend. Same for beers and booze. Dobbies is self contained with a massive building and outside area for larger plants, aggregate and sheds. Pretty impressive and (when I went there) extremely busy. Now I have made my opinions known about Garden Centres (tea rooms where you can buy plants). I also have let folks know where I would prefer that they bought their rose bushes and tomato plants (Erskine). But this Dobbies powerhouse does a very good job and they try to be environmentally friendly from the materials used in the construction to the parking lot outside. Am I a little bit upset when you look at the massive parking lot at Dobbies and the tiny one at Erskine. Yeah a bit. If you travelled a little ways down the Clyde, you could buy your plants and help some folks that need it. Just think about it. No guilt here, just saying.