What a pleasant surprise to find this shop. Arrived early for our Harry Potter tour and had time to…read morekill. Browsed and found some unusual gifts and had them wrapped for free by the helpful young ladies.

From the owner: Stylish Gifts Posh Pots and Plants…read moreFresh Flowers Fine Chocolate

I am all for supporting local shops and trades and Panda cards is a great example…read more It's situated off the main shopping area, in the road behind Clinton (ironically) Unlike Clinton you get a small independent shop with one courteous lady serving, a good selection of out of the ordinary cards and gifts as well as other quirky items. The only draw back I have with Panda is that you are required to pay in cach (or this has been the case every time I have been in there). Other than that it's a great little gem in St Albans in amongst all the corporate monsters.

Not the sort of shop you would expect to find outside of London. It's full of great lines that you…read morehaven't seen elsewhere. If you are bored of shopping at homes and interiors shops then Eden Rose is the shop for you. The shop is a pleasure to be in and there is something interesting everywhere you look. A real feast for the eyes! Prices are reasonable too.

A fantastic shop for unique and bespoke cards, gifts, retro goods and handmade items that can't be…read morefound elsewhere. Definitely well worth checking out! It's great for gifts for the hard to buy for people in your life!

If you want to find a card that's outside of the sorts of things offered by Clintons and Hallmark…read morethen this is the place for you. It has a fantastic range of stuff, and it's always my first stop for cards and presents, as I know I'll find something lovely. Great for helium balloons too, and cheap!

A unique gift shop a la Magma meets Design Museum. The stock…read moreconsists of the wittiest cards, toys, home accessories, books, games, jewellery... and most importantly of those crazy arty 'things.' (i.e. plastic egg hatching a basil plant)

This place has a unique selection of interesting and kitschy gifts. They even threw in a miniature…read morerubber ducky at my request. Can't wait to see what they have next time I visit.

Babylong trading is an independent retailer offering unique products like furniture, textiles, wall…read moreart, clothes and more! If you are looking for inspiration for your home decor avoid the large chains and go here first, you will definetly find something unique and interesting. Most of the time i find myself visiting to get some of their amazing cards & wrapping paper(much better choise than paperchase or cardfactory) or when I find myself stuck looking for a gift and i need something different.

My son had ordered an expensive bouquet for Mother's Day and not only were they late in delivery…read more So I went on over to collect it myself and they had more wild flowers than what was in the picture ordered from their site. The flowers barely lasted 3 days and I had to dispose the whole bouquet. They did not even have a glass jar to hold the flowers just a plastic bag with water in a fancy paper bag! Will never order here again

I literally LOVE this florist. The store and Louise. And it was stumbled upon accidentally in St…read moreAlbans. We got our wedding flowers from here in March and they exceeded my expectations (I have very high standards people). We met with Louise, who became our florist, and she got exactly what I wanted, straight up. She has a abundance of floral knowledge, she's JANE PACKER TRAINED and was willing to take my ideas on board, mixed with hers and hey presto...best wedding flowers ever. I wanted a vintagey, gardeny, quaint feel. I provided some birdcages, jugs and cake stands and mentioned colours and she did the rest. Hung the cages in trees etc Provided the EXACT shade of nude pink roses I was lusting after. I think I hugged her on wedding morning...may of scared her but was so impressed. And I hadn't even seen the gardens/reception barn/ceremony room yet! Sigh. Happy memories. The store itself is lovely. Sells lots of cool, vintage looking, shabby chic home-wares alongside her beautiful selection of flowers. Lots of unusual looking ones as well. This is a cut above the rest. Birthday/wedding/etc cards provide interest too. Everything is well priced. No complaints at all. Expecting hubbie to provide enormous Kendalls bouquet for Valentines.