Like a lot of florists these days, you can not only buy flowers in all their beautiful forms from…read morehere, but you can also find decorative pieces to brighten up your home and garden. The shop always looks good from the outside and is nicely stocked inside too. I really liked the iron work flowers that were hanging in the window. The flower boxes and baskets are also pretty and of good quality. I like the range of potted and freshly cut flowers that are available. I have bought both as gifts over the years. It's also open on a Sunday, at least it is on Mother's Day thank goodness as there have been a couple of emergency visits for presents for my mother in law over the years. The prices aren't the cheapest, but neither are they outrageously expensive and the service is great. I prefer this place to the other options in Kings Heath itself. When we had to use their services for a sad occasion, they made it a whole lot easier and the bouquets were beautiful.

What a lovely shop. Outside, wooden crates hold bunches of flowers to tempt those getting off at…read morethe nearby bus stop to take something home to keep the missus sweet. Once inside, at floor level there are conical brushed steel vases with star-gazer lilies bursting out with small metal watering cans, and herb boxes scattered around. There are three-bloom displays in small slim tube vases on the top shelf, and above these are rustic gift-ware photo frames. The shop is a of burst of colour, fragrance and oooh, just general niceness! There are plans to open up a large area at the rear of the shop soon as a wedding show-area. Whoops-A-Daisy are in good stead to specialise in this field; when I'm in the shop a lady pops in to thank the florist for the bouquet she created for a recent wedding. While the name Whoops-A-Daisy suggests an accident, it seems the owner here can't put a foot wrong.

Trinity Church aka Connect Church have been a customer of Shirley Anne for years and their…read moreoutstanding bouquets have been an integral part of helping us serve the community and the church. On rare occasions I have had to use online florists, but Shirley Anne provides much better value for money in comparison!

Its not often that I shop at a florist. And who says romance is dead? As soon as I enter Shirley…read moreAnn Florist, a bouquet smacks me in the mouth. (Not literally, ninny, I mean that I get a nice smell in my schnoz). There is such a variety of flowers in here here and some that I've never before seen. It's only just after 9am and the staff are busy receiving deliveries and making arrangements. Services included catering for weddings, funerals, and other occasions. What to buy? In the end I go for a fiver's worth of fresh-in-today, pungent-as-you-like star-gazer lillies. I It's well worth remembering that this florist opens at 8am so you can always pop in, like I am, on the way to work.

Lewis puts together amazing displays and his flowers are very high quality. He has an eye for…read moredetail and this shows in your purchase. Lovely guy, I can't praise him enough. Highly recommended

From the owner: Blossoms Florist is a full service Florist specializing in all occasions including weddings,…read morefunerals, corporate events.

Among the delights that Armadillo sell are gifts, cards, and Fair Trade Jewellery. Lots of their…read morestock is Fair Trade in fact. The best feature though is the arts and crafts materials that they have, at the back of the shop. A browse though them is sure to inspire the most uncreative amongst us to want to whip something up in a makeshift kitchen workshop. They sell a few Lomo cameras too and I've often been tempted to part with some money for one of these beauts. Originally designed in Russia to be used by spies to take pictures in low-light conditions, they produce prints with an atmospheric and unique character. Armadillo also have hundreds of designs of different beads. When I was in the shop a small girl was stood on a chair while she and her mum both made necklaces, while they both chatted away as the morning sun slipped round the corner and in through the shop window. Worth taking a peek in here past the shop display, as there is more in here than immediately meets the eye.

Based on the Poplar Road Armadillo is a gift and craft shop that is the sort of place I would have…read morehappily spent all my pocket money in as a small child. It certainly seems popular with girls of a certain age who are drawn to the vast selection of beads they sell here. For those of you not immediately drawn to bright and glittering things Armadillo also offers a range of arts and crafting items as well as giftware such as mugs, coasters, home ware and notebooks. I was rather touched on my last visit to hear the lady who runs the shop explain to a teenage lad who the 'fella in the beret' on the mouse mat was (Che Guevera of course...good old Kings Heath)

It is rare that I enter a party or special occasions store. They're just places I seek out - I am…read moremore repelled by a shop full of trifles that get thrown away after a few hours of ineffectual use. However taking a more active role in a special occasion, I was sent on a mission to get some balloons personalised. Well, there was no more perfect store that Balloon Away to do such a task. They personalised 5 balloons that I assembled myself with their very detailed make your own balloon option, they filled them with helium and I was on my way - job done. I was impressed by their service and the products as was the person who allocated me with this duty. I'll probably never go there again, but if I need some bespoke balloons and some typical party bits and bobs, I'll certainly head to balloon away.

Balloon Away cater for parties, weddings, anniversaries, and any other occasion where you might…read morewant some, er...balloons. The service is first class. They will make each order in a totally bespoke manner for you, so you choose the colour and design of balloon, the colour of the string, decide what shape and design of weight you would like and then if you wany the balloons to be filled 'high float' or not. (This is a term for when the balloons are filled with slightly more helium for a longer-lasting floating ability.) Balloon Away also has a small fancy dress section with costumes and accessories to fit most common current themes like pirates, 70's etc.

I have lots of friends with birthdays that fall in the period of February to May. That particular…read moretime of year can be expensive for me. In chains of well-known national newsagents you can now expect to pay the price of a small gift for a greetings card. At the now positively historically sounding 'Greetings 2000' you can pick up cards at a bargain price, either singularly or in bulk. At around £1 they aren't going to break the bank. They don't have the best jokes, the best graphics or the best lines, but therein lies the beauty, as you have can get kudos for kitsch at cut cost.

The days leading up to Christmas, Mothers Day, Fathers Day or Valentines Day are annoying times,…read moreand particularly if you decide to buy your cards in WH Smith, which not only seems awfully over-priced these days, but also happens to have the slowest moving queue system in the history of the world. Greetings 2000, then, is a welcome alternative. Yes, it gets dangerously busy on 13th Febuary, or 23rd December, but it is nevertheless a cheap and cheerful way to fulfil the societal obligation of handing over cash in exchange for a decorated piece of cardboard so that you can scrawl something on it before giving it to another human being, so that they can look at it before sticking it in a drawer, or the bin, a few days later. Aside from the cards this shop also does a decent line in numerical candles, bunting, balloons for every occasion, and all manner of party-related stuff.