Who would have thought that there would be any need for a gardening centre in HK? I mean, who on…read moreearth has enough garden to require an entire centre with which to cater to it? Ahhhh, yes the bling ring on ex-pat contracts - lucky! If you ever do need to do any gardening, then the Garden Gallery is a great place to come. What it does above the outdoor furniture shops and other specialist gardening shops (like Jervis Bay BBQ), is that it has most things under one roof, and sells many more of the small accessory items, rather than just the big ticket furniture pieces. For example, you can get BBQs and garden furniture, but also K'Archer power washers, lawn sprinklers, plant food, furniture covers, table cloths, sheds, storage units, swimming pool tiles. It really has a very extensive and diverse range of products, but doesn't seem to sell plants and/or plant pots! The prices are pretty competitive in comparison to the other shop in Horizon Plaza, but this may be to do with their pile em high sell em cheap approach. This is definitely a shop and not a showroom! The staff are a little bit absent, but I can imagine they get pretty busy with few of them. It's the sort of place you should really know what you want before coming. There are three products I particularly from Garden Gallery, that I have not seen in many (or any) places in HK. Wall planters; these are teak plant pots which click into a shelving unit to make a straight or curved partition wall. Made in Thailand by a company called Deesawat, these are definitely worth checking out. K'Archer pressure washers; for car or garden, every man needs a pressure washer - go on, feel the power! Pond accessories; from giant plastic waterfall scenes to pumps and linings, Garden Gallery stock a lot of pond building materials. Garden Gallery is right their on my list of greatest hits in HK. I don't know any other gardening centres in the area, and this store has so many bases covered, so that when I do start to grow my own herbs on the terrace, I'll be coming here first.

Great range of items IF you want exactly what they have e.g. we wanted 9m of garden hose, had to…read morebuy 50m. Who needs 50m in Hong Kong? We wanted a connection tap to hose - they didn't have the simple connector and would only provide a fancy connector at 4 times the price. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE, no empathy for the customer. We will not go back. They don't care.

Life Goods is one of those stores that should be on every corner. It is a "general" store that just…read moreseems to stock everything that one would need for life! What I like, is that provide across a number of household needs; home-wares like Japan Home Centre, stationery like the mom and pop shops, hardware like the guys on Wellington Street. It seems that if you need anything, you can get it here. It is moderately cramped in the store, I suppose the stock has to go somewhere, so if you have shopping bags or a ruck sack, be careful! There are two floors, with mainly stationery, kitchen-ware, and hard ware downstairs, and bigger home-wares upstairs, like ironing boards and plastic boxes. Some of the store highlights include; photo albums, plastic boxes, paint pens, plastic spiral key chains, lots of carabiners, toys, and decorations, and a few items that I would not have expected, including; gas torches and soldering kit for plumbing, and thick transparent plastic sheeting, like stuff they drop down the sides of the junk boats to stop the splashes coming in. The staff are very friendly, if not a bit difficult to spot as they don't wear any uniform, and will help you to get out stock, or cut rolls of linoleum. The prices are very very reasonable, basically cheap as chips, so fill your boots! The store is also very close to Tin Hau station, so only a short walk if you are carrying a plastic box full of stuff!