Top notch florist that doesn't charge the earth! Great quality flowers and beautifully arranged…read more The staff are extremely helpful and come up with some excellent creative ideas if you're stuck for finding a present for someone and balance this wonderfully with great empathy shown if the occasion is of a more solemn nature. I would recommend this florist to anyone!

For all floral needs this shop is first class. Flowers are fresh every time. They can cater for…read moreLarge events, or if you just want them to make up a little bunch as a prezie for someone don't feel embarassed you can just ask they are more than happy to help. I have over the years shopped here for sad occasions and happy ones. I have never been let down and the staff are lovely. Although I live away now I would go the extra mile to use this shop.

So, I was served this morning by Sarah and Julie and it has to be said...what a team! They pulled…read moreout all the stops to make a beautiful large, luxury. Festive Floral basket working to a very tight deadline. They couldn't have been more helpful, efficient and friendly. Thank you so much ladies. The recipient of the flowers was overwhelmed with what you put together for her and I'm incredibly grateful to you. You're are a real credit fo the business and a big reason why I would use Betty's Florists again.

I have dealt with this business for the last 10 years+ and have had great service from the previous…read moreand new current owners. I live in Vancouver Canada and used to have flowers sent to a Cardiff care home. Never had any significant issues. One time there was a minor hiccup and that was more than corrected on the next delivery. Highly recommend this place of you need flowers in the Cardiff area.

The ordering process did not go smoothly. I had to explain what I wanted to a second person, two…read moredays after I had originally placed the order. I asked for the bouquets to be delivered to a particular place and they were delivered to a different place. But the worst thing was the actual flowers. I asked for brightly coloured flowers. Instead I got a mish-mash of random types of flowers, and most of them in drab and washed-out colours. A lot of them had started curling at the edges of the petals, even though they were still in water and there were lots of stalks of berries for some reason. I asked for flowers, not berries. It looked like I got palmed off with the flowers nobody would choose at the shop.

I don't like red roses, boys/ men. Take note. I do like flowers though. Actual, real flowers in the…read morewild, in plant pots, but mostly in big bright beautiful bouquets given to me, meant for me, from someone quite lovely. What kind of flowers? Orange gerberas. Sunflowers. Crazy exotic creations. Daffodils. Cornflowers. Pretty little posies of wild flowers and sweet peas. I am not alone in this. A lot of people like giving and receiving flowers. They say things we don't know how to otherwise. Things like: 'Sorry' I dumped you/ ran over your cat/ spilt red wine on that dress I borrowed and promised not to spill red wine on... 'I love you' friend/ mum/ tiddles/ Romeo/ Charlotte Church 'Thinking of you' ... I know I've not called for three years but, well I've been busy Gran, and I'm sure you understand. Things like that. If you need to say things like that I'd recommend the Secret Garden because they can say it beautifully. They've got fashion know how to bring to creating bouquets. They offer a sensational selection of seasonal blooms, full of vibrant colours for any occasion - hand-tied bouquets; wedding flowers; corporate contracts; gift ideas and sympathy flowers. Delivery: They have a same day delivery service to surrounding Cardiff, and a next day delivery for nationwide orders placed before 2pm.

This is a smart little florist sourcing its flowers from Holland, and staff there go out of way to…read moreget your arrangement just right. As you'd expect, they cater for all occasions. They can dress a hotel for a wedding reception, decorate a marquee for your celebration, and design beautiful buttonholes for your wedding, working with ideas you already have - or coming up with ideas for you if you're stuck. Depending on the season and the type and duration of the event, they know what type of flowers will hold up to the rigours of the day - and can avoid those that will die in the wrong conditions.

My friend got her wedding flowers from Barkways last year and they gave an amazing service right…read morethrough. She had something quite specific in mind and they listened to her requests, came up with some really cool ideas. They really knew their stuff and also helped her to find ways to keep the costs down. Everything on the day looked perfect and they still looked fresh at the end of the night. Luckily I got to take some home!

All what I askef for was met, I do not really know how to thank you for the service you have…read moreprovided my family for our grandmother. You and your collegues were gentle and caring. We thank you again for what you had done for us, Sady and Family X

From the owner: A Personal and Compassionate Service for Families of all Faiths and None…read more If you need immediate assistance we are available 24 hours, 7 days a week throughout the year please contact us. We are here to help and support you.

A fantastic shop to visit for Welsh-themed gifts of all kinds! Everything from fridge magnets and…read morekey rings to beautiful carved wooden love spoons - or silver ones if you prefer. There are rugby souvenirs and jewellery, T-shirts, postcards and fudge, not to mention little sheep ornaments and toys! The shop is right across the road from the castle so easy to find. Friendly, helpful staff too, as I found out today.

I ordered flowers for my mother's funeral and the flowers were not the flowers I ordered on the…read morecross advertisement very disappointing on a very sad day I hoped the flowers I ordered would be the same as advertised I bought the yellow cross in good faith that I would receive the flowers advertised but I didn't not pleased

Rolfes The Florists is a flower shop that also stocks a good selection of plants and locally…read moresourced vegetables, which is a couple of doors down from Indigo Florists on Splott Road. Both of these outlets offer a quality service, and although they compete in many respects, both shops also offer something a bit different to the other. Where the flowers are concerned there's little to distinguish the two however. Both carry good quality blooms and cater for weddings, funerals and corporate clients as well as oother special events. Indigo carries a range of iconic gift items like the Betty Boop range, and Rolfes do something similar in that they sell a selection of cuddly toys that can be sold with or without a flower arrangement. Rolfes also stocks a good range of fresh fruit and veg, which is always in great condition, and so is my preferred fruit and veg outlet in this area. The history of the building that Rolfes occupies is fascinating. It use to be an old corn merchants, and still has the barn at the back where the horse and cart used to be housed. When you look down the length of Splott Road, it's hard to imagine that there would be a barn secreted away in the middle of it. II's a typical retail High Street with all of the usual modern shop fronts, that reveals very little of the history of the place. These days the barn is used to store blooms and plants, offering an ideal environment to keep the flowers at their best. This windowless space is cool and dry, which helps to preserve the lifespan of the stock.

Clinton's is located practically next door to Card Centre on Albany Road, with only a disused shop…read moreseparating them... surely there is some logic in this, but I have to admit that it escapes me! Both shops sell almost identical product ranges and share the same commercial emphasis, clearly concentrating most of their effort on the sale of greetings cards. There's not much to distinguish one from the other in my opinion, as the majority of the stock is either of the 'humorous' variety, or of the schmaltzy candy-coated kind, (flowers, kittens, stylised teddy bears, and utopian rustic scenes that don't exist in hardly anyone's reality... you know the type!?... all replete with cringe-inducing idylls, and sentimental verse that are the poetic equivalent of the two times table... yeah, that sophisticated!) Other items for sale include cuddly toys, gift wrap, and plastic helium balloons... has no-one told these people that the reserves of helium on planet earth are close to running out? And I won't go into the fact that plastic comes from the petro-chemical industry, as I think we all know the score where fossil fuels are concerned... Card Centre probably wins the price war on the whole, but has sacrificed quality, (and several thousand trees), to achieve a pretty shallow victory! The only thing that I can say in their favour is that a lot of their cards are so flimsy that, at least, they probably use less trees than Clinton's. Hardly a heartfelt vote of commendation! My vote, on Albany Road, is actually with the Vision 21 Gift Shop. Not only can you buy more interesting cards here, but you can probably pick up a half decent present to go with it... and the cause is 100% more worthy!

Sometimes I find myself quite disppointed with Clintons. They seem to forget sometimes what it is…read moreto be a card shop. They focus instead too much on little toys and fluffy things that I really don't want. I guess that there must be a market for them but not for me, thanks. Paperchase has upped the stakes in the greeting card game, making it hard for any other shop to do quite so well. Clintons, in particular, often gets stuck between the high level, expensive, nice-looking cards and the absolute trash of cheap shops. This Clintons, then, was a nice surprise, offering a good range of cards and generally reasonable prices. The staff here are much nicer than they are at the shop in town too, so if you live around this area, save yourself a trip into town to be insulted by the service. Come here and be pleasantly surprised by your whole experience.

Isabella's is a beautiful gift shop situated in the ill-fated Morgan Arcade…read more Like The Royal Arcade, it is enclosed under a beautifully ornate Victorian glass ceiling, but where this works to the advantage of The Royal Arcade, intensifying the vibe, with the noises amplifying as they carry down this lovely long mews, it has the opposite effect in The Morgan Arcade. With very little activity, the few sounds that are made tend to echo harshly off the buildings and ceiling, accentuating the fact that it isn't much used. Businesses like Isabella's are staving off the demise at the St Mary Street end of the arcade. Well positioned sandwich boards at the mouth of the arcade are drawing in a steady stream of visitors as far as her shop at least. But even this isn't an entirely successful quest. Isabella's was once an up-market gift shop selling originally designed accessories and ornaments. These days such items sit gathering dust on the shelves, whilst the low cost cheap and cheerful Welsh souvenirs and nick-nacks fly out of the door. And even though these sales keep her busy all day, the average spend is about £1.00 per person, and so when she tots up the take at the end of the day it is depressingly low compared to the volume of custom. This is a tragedy. What's more, if Isabella is lucky enough to sell one of her beautiful handbags or a piece of exquisite jewellery, the money is immediately reinvested in the more gimmicky souvenir stock, instead of the more creditable higher cost items. It's a war of attrition that will eventually culminate in the unique identity of the shop being lost, and a valuable outlet for more creative endeavour will be lost forever. Isabella clearly has taste and flair in abundance. She's a smart woman attempting to do what she loves. I'm not sure whether she can see the transformation through to the bitter end. But with bills to pay, she's there for the meantime at least. And who knows, something may happen to turn around the fortune of this declining arcade? The Cardiff Arts Institute

Located in the Grade II listed Morgan Arcade, Isabella's seems to specialise in two main types of…read moregifts: Murano Glass Jewellery and Welsh Gifts. It's a slightly odd mix, to be honest - with the rather expensive-looking glassware and gifts on the one hand, and the rather brash, touristy, Welsh-themed items on another. It's probably best known for its brightly-coloured range of Antica Murrina handmade Murano glass jewellery, and Simstars - which are some kind of charm beads made of sterling silver or Murano glass, which you can put together in your own design to make up a unique charm bracelet or necklace. They also stock IVV, a range of Italian hand-made decorative glass in all sorts of interesting shapes, vibrant colours and different textures. When it comes to Welsh gifts, you can choose from a fairly predictable range of mugs and kitchen aprons with a Welsh flag design; slate house numbers and name signs; fridge magnets showing the traditional Welsh costume; ornaments of Welsh dragons; and postcards of local scenes and attractions. Although this shop does contain some beautiful objects, it doesn't hold a great deal of appeal for me - but if you're a visitor to Wales, or you're really into glass jewellery, Isabella's is worth a look.