TL;DR - Small but perfectly formed garden centre…read more First thing I want to say is that you can't compare Bud to other garden centres. It's tiny, so don't come here expecting to see a huge range of plants and supplies. But that said, they make wonderful use of the space available to offer a good range of well chosen and curated products. In fact it's remarkable how much they've managed to cram in here. For such a tiny plot in a residential area they've got a wide range of plants, including some growing in a tiny greenhouse. There's also a range of gardening supplies and a beautiful range of small flowerpots - actually nicer than I've seen in many big garden centres. Staff are friendly and clearly very knowledgeable but also gave us space to browse in peace. Parking can be a bit of an issue since you'll need to find space on the road nearby.

This is a hidden gem. If you want a small but well curated selection of perennials, good quality…read moretrees & shrubs or an interesting houseplant, this is the place for you! It is tiny, really tiny, but packs a horticultural punch. There's also a fantastic selection of glazed pots in all sizes & cute garden related gifts. All ethically sourced & well priced. Definitely worth a visit, the staff are really knowledgeable & helpful.

If you're a green-fingered plant lover blessed with a garden, then you might want to take a trip to…read moreDaisy Nook garden centre in Failsworth. This is a one-stop shop for everything from annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees to pots, compost, furniture, barbecues and chimeneas at great prices. In particular, their bedding plants (pansies, petunias, marigolds) have remained the same price for 10 years now at £2.49 per 6-pack. Bigger indoor and outdoor plants start at just £2 and planters too are plentiful and cost conscious. The clincher for me though is Daisy Nook's home ware department which really makes this trip worth while. There's everything from pillows, scented candles, wall prints, dried flowers and greetings cards as a great range of books for every level of gardener. I'd empty the boot of your car before you go if I were you.

Love visiting here no matter what time of the year. I've always found the staff to be very…read morehelpful. It's always done up really nice, and I never fail to find what I'm looking for. Have brought many gifts from here. Nice to visit the cafe for a tea and cake deal, or something hot if preferred. It's in lovely surroundings so you could go for a stroll round the lake which is just up the road. Well worth a visit.

A community run garden centre in the middle of Hulme. I've admired it from the top of the 86 bus…read moremany times. This is a very well designed space which feels surprisingly big as you walk around it. There's a good variety of flowers, fruit trees, shade plants and more for sale. There's a gluten free, vegan cafe on site. I saw a sign for vegan hotdogs, cakes and coffee when I was there but didn't sample anything. There's lots of seating at the cafe but also lots of little quiet spots with seating all over the centre. It feels like a community park as much as a business. There's also a 'schoolroom' with hay bales for the students. This place is not the cheapest garden centre but then your money is going to support a community not B & Q shareholders. Also all the plants are organic and in peat free compost.

A non commercial garden centre that has a really lovely relaxed feel to it and a good selection of…read moreplants and shrubs with some unusual varieties. The path leading in has lots of lovely plants growing along it and you are drawn in to the various areas with a smile. Loved the sensory garden and the staff are very friendly. If you need some vegetables for planting the have a selection. Also there are various courses run by this centre and details are on the website.

I have been doing my garden this week I decided to take a look this Garden centre. As I do not know…read moremuch about the plants I asked a member of staff if they could give me some advice on these plants that I was looking at and he gave me some very good advice and now im ready to plant them. She was very friendly.and plenty of free parking.

The selection here is getting really good, especially later in the week. I bought 2 beautiful…read morefloral scarves I wear almost on a daily basis for £15 from Mandalay, definitely worth checking out. More recently I had the best banh mih I've had in the UK from a stall whose name I can't remember and which may have disappeared - argh! Grandma's Touch, despite the odd name, seems to be selling some interesting arepas (beef and plaintain - yes!) although sadly when I was there they had mostly run out (I think, they seemed a bit confused and kept mentioning the name of an arepa that wasn't on the sign I was looking at) and so I had the less interesting beans and cheese (the arepa itself seemed good though, and is gluten free). Other choices included grilled cheese sandwiches, Mexican, Spanish, Caribbean and pastries. SO NO PRET, YES?

I usually avoid Manchester on a Saturday for the sheer volume of people. That's where I've been…read moregoing wrong. I'm not sure which speciality market was on today but it was amazing. First off there's food. My favourite type of market. There's regional food, Lancashire beef, cumberland sausage, Cumbrian cheese. Stalls with Eastern cuisine and curry, looked really really good. Homemade fudge and toffee for the sweet toothed. A strange one: ostrich, kangaroo and wild boar burger stall, if you're feeling particularly curious. Then there's some homemade cupcake and chocolate stalls. A variety of homegrown foods here. Once your belly's satisfied you will find lots of craft and jewellery shops, some very pretty delicate pieces. Some Amazonia gifts perhaps? Lots of fairtrade items. Then there's the shubbery and plantation stalls if you're into your gardening. Once your food's part digested why not tuck into some home brewed beer, with the strangest of homemade labels, cat piss? shit stew? brain damage? At £3.50 a bottle, go try. So that was my day and observation at the markets. According to the website it was supposed to be the crafts and gifts market being the first Saturday of the month. Was much more than that today. Any who Manchester markets give good value, quality, local produce. Support.

Unicorn Home Furniture is the kind of furniture shop that hates Ikea, as it sells similar items at…read moreslightly higher prices, because not everyone can be huge multinational company and offer furniture at ridiculously low prices. They have a huge range of beds, wardrobes, dining tables and chests of drawers here, all at reasonable prices. The furniture isn't stunning, but then it won't break the bank and it will do what it's meant to do. The staff are friendly and the vibe is quiet. You could wander around here and have a good luck at everything here without people hassling you to make a sale. Oh and they sell carpets too. A bit of everything really and much closer than Ikea.

If you want to spend your money in here, your better off going to Ikea for similar prices and…read morequality. My parents bought a wardrobe set with matching bed side table and also a dressing table from here. Everything looked fine and dandy when they came to fit it, however, afterwards when they had left and we were putting things in we noticed there were a LOT of scratches all over the wood inside the door and there was also what seemed like ROT on the corner of the shelf inside. We also discovered a loose knut that hadn't been drilled in properly so we had to use our own screwdriver to do it, even though we had to PAY for the guys to fit it for us. What took the mick even further was when I opened up a drawer on the bedside table, there were some CRISPS and LEAVES inside. What the hell? It makes me think whether the set was new or whether it was a show room one. We rang up to complain and they said to send in photos of the evidence we found in email to them, which we duly did but have never gotten a reply off them which is very unprofessional and sly. I could never recommend this place based on my experience and will warn everyone NOT to consider it. The quality is no better than what you get in Ikea anyway, but at least when things go wrong in Ikea, you can take it back.