I was horrified this morn, half way through September, to hear an ad on the radio for Christmas…read moreparties... the first Christmas ad of the season... good god, where did that last year go? Anyway as I mulled over all things festive I happened to be on Sandymount avenue and there are the gates to Enable Ireland and their great little garden centre where I have gotten our Christmas tree for the last 4 years. I wander in, and realise that there is more here than trees and plants; they have garden tools and pellets, compost and oddly enough a selection of posters saying things like you 'don't have to be crazy to work here' yada yada yada. They also have a display of Ballydongan pottery (nope, never heard of it either) jolly nice as it happens. The garden centre is part on Enable Ireland so when you shop there you are not only getting some very nice greenery (or dodgy plaques/posters) but your cash is doing some extra good.... which is nice.

...and one day i found myself really getting into the gardening thing…read more.. but alas, i needed supplies. SUPPLIES!!! and my searches all ended up in tiny TINY little places where i had to dig underneath things to find other things and generally didn't find many things i needed at all. so imagine my thrill at finding Avenue Garden Centre. not only is it larger than a cupboard, they have loads of things. they have an entire area dedicated to ginormous bags of compost. another area just for pots. short of flying back to the america and going to home depot, it's the best garden store i've found within throwing distance of city centre. yes, i'm sure there are more magical places out in the burbs, but please people, i don't have a car and i don't fancy hauling 50kg bags of compost around on the LUAS. i'm sure you can understand. i was able to get there on DART, find the things i needed (and then some) and hail a nice lady cabbie (i know, right?) to get it all back to the house for me. luckily, i also had Husband with me to do the heavy lifting. oh i should also mention that the staff was also extremely helpful and friendly. i didn't feel like a complete retard asking them for help. that's a bonus in my book :)

Stopped by urban plant life to get some small bags of soil and pots for plants I had at home. It…read moredoesn't look like much from outside but inside it is huge and full of everything that you could possibly need. And the people was very helpful! For at home plant lovers they sell a medium ziplock of soil for €3.50!

An awesome spot tucked away off the main streets of Dublin. They have a large variety of both…read moreindoor and outdoor plants, as well as herbs and a few fruit bushes. Pretty much any plant you want you can find there. Staff was super lovely as well.

I stumbled upon this place while walking around and running errands on Baggot Street. I had seen…read moresigns that a new shop was going into this spot soon, and all of the sudden, "BOOM"! It opened! I'm quite a sucker for plants and flowers, so I went in to see what they had and ended up leaving with a nice little flowering plant to brighten up my apartment. Only 4.50 euros! Not a bad price to add some colour to my living room! The inside is so beautifully decorated. If you are at all feeling down, or need a pick me, simply walk past the store (or go inside if it's a serious case of the blues) I chatted with the woman behind the front counter for a little while, and she gave me some great advice on how to take care of my new Orchid plant I'm attempting to foster back to light. She also explained that very soon they are hoping to sell plant food for indoor plants. Happy to see such a gorgeous store opening where I can see all the beautiful flowers as I walk by each day (although, this could prove dangerous to my wallet in a few weeks time...)

Of course I have not forgotten my own mothers birthday... what kind of bad monsterish son do you…read moretake me for? Q quietly sidles into nearest florist on Baggott street. I am greeted by a lovely lady who firmly and patiently tells me that every bouquet of flowers i point to has been pre ordered and paid for.... In advance... by organised people (quite possibly good sons). She promises to "put together something beautiful" in less than 10 mins. She delivers the goods in less than 10 mins, they are indeed beautiful. Ok, not the cheapest florist but lovely and obliging and worth stopping into when the need arises.

My sister lives in Dublin and was recovering from a surgery. I called from NYC to place and order,…read moreand a beautiful bouquet was delivered less than two hours later. It really cheered her up and I was so grateful for the beautiful flowers and quick delivery.

I love the classic cafe-elegance of Blooming Amazing's Dawson St shop…read more The blooms are not cheap, but when you're in the market for something special that gives an occaision (or an apology) that little extra glam, this is the florist that helps make that happen. Stop in to pick up a few winter plantings or stems for the kitchen, or put in an order for your grande ballroom or corporate foyer, all of the above is their speciality.

This is a top notch florist! I'm in the states and needed to get a funeral spray with very little…read moretime. I sent my contact info and Fionnuala at the shop called me within an hour and helped me through ordering the right flowers. She even had all the information on the person that passed away and where the flowers needed to go. There was a change in funeral homes and she made sure my flowers were not only picked up but then got them to the church on time too! This was a 4 foot spray so it wasn't that easy to manage. My family called me the next day and said the flowers were beautiful and very tastefully done. If you want the best in class service and products, order from Scarecrow Flowers!! Blown away by their care and help across the pond! Above and beyond anything I could have imagined!!

Tucked away and hiding in plain sight in the middle of sandymount village is the florists called…read moreScarecrow (actually I didn't know the name of the place until I went to take a pic for this review!) - and I've been in there loads of times! They do good stuff, the arrangements always look the part but I would quibble about the price, I've paid anything up to 65 Euro for a bunch of 6 roses - granted I was in a hurry and needed something impressive... I'll leave the details to your self to work out, suffice to say they did the trick!

I happened across this treasure trove of a shop the other day. From the outside it looks like just…read moreanother fancy home store, with minimalist decoration, selling a few expensive items to those who list interior design as a hobby. Yet it turns out to be much much more than that. Walk into the shop and the building is like a TARDIS, with aisles winding further and further back into the shop. What was more impressive was the content - yes there are pretty boxes, and furnishings, but also candles, a plethora of craft items, a wide array of different coloured candles, cookery utensils, old fashioned sweets, and much much more (and at affordable prices too!). A quick internet search when I got home revealed the shop to be a "Danish lifestyle retailer... selling a range of home accessories, kitchenware and hobby items", and this Dun Laoghaire store is it's first in Ireland, Well worth a look in if you are in town.

This store is just perfectly lovely. Beautiful but affordable goods for home, kids and more. I…read moreliterally wanted to buy one of everything! The quality is impressive and the prices are more than reasonable. If I had little ones their room decor would come from here.