I'm not the biggest gardening guru, so I can't provide the expert's opinion of Gardenworks as a…read moregardening centre. However from the point of view of a mere human, Gardenworks is a rather impressive establishment. For starters, it's massive. Beautiful exterior, airy interior, chock full of garden and household goodies, and large nursery section out the back. I was quite impressed that they have a food and wine section (?!?) with a great variety of snacky, gourmet eats. They also have a fairly sizeable section for dog owners... sweet! Gardenworks is a great place to visit if you're planning a complete garden revamp, or simply if you want to grab some hip and happening utensils for your next barbecue. They also have an impressive (read: expensive) selection of outdoor furniture, some of which really took my fancy. The best thing is on Sundays (every 2nd I think) they have a BBQ - so bring the whole family along. And for those single girls out there - there's a bit of eye candy on offer here, if you like the strong, muscly type...

Well worth a visit. Very friendly staff who know their stuff and are willing to help. Large…read more selection of plants which are healthy and the prices are very competitive. I recently purchased some top soil to level off a patchy uneven garden. I called Mike to ask advice on what type of soil I needed,he was very helpful, offering advice on the best type of soil and how to apply.Fantastic quality soil,could not be faulted,there were no foreign bodies, stones or any sign of weeds etc Would definitely consider for future use!

Known locally simply as Matt's, this is actually a cross between a treasure trove and a hardware…read morestore. About as far away from Woodies or B&Q as it's possible to get, avoid it at all costs if you like ordered aisles, signs, clearly displayed prices, or a lot of choice. To be sought out if you have a general sense of curiosity and might like to witness a wily, wiry man, not in the first flush of youth but nimble as a goat, disappear into the midst of what looks like pure chaos in the form of a shelving system, and arrive back within 60 seconds with precisely what you asked for - however odd or out of sight - and present it to you without fuss, usually at a cost of around two euros. If that's ok. Because he may well ask you. Bulbs. Paint. A colander. Electrical stuff. Wire. Rope. Pots. Plants. Trees. Keys. A laser spirit level, anyone? Lamps. Bike locks. Vacuum bags. It wouldn't surprise me to find there's a sofa in there somewhere, or a self-assembly garden shed (maybe even modest dwelling?), in fact next time I might ask. It might better be know as the hardware Tardis of D7, as it carries much more than its exterior suggests is possible. In fact, the question may be, what's not available in Matt's shop? I've yet to find out.

Every locality needs a good hardware store and Phibsboro's is Phibsboro Hardware. If you're doing…read moreeven the smallest spot of DIY at home, then here's the place to get your supplies. Whether it's paint, tools or nails that you're after, it's here. The photo of the shop's exterior says it all really. They even have plants and they sell Christmas trees during the Yuletide season. Only problem is you could go in there and lose track of time purchasing stuff that you never knew you wanted or needed!

Regency Glass are purveyors of all things reflective - walk by their window and you will definitely…read morebe dazzled, either by the sun shining on all that glass or by the confirmation (that only seven full length mirrors can truly bring) that you are wearing a really bad outfit. The shop is awash with mirrors - big, medium, small - but mainly big, as Regency Glass likes to go high impact. Some of them are gorgeous and ornate but really only suitable for those lucky people with 12 foot ceiling height. If you are not at liberty to buy one, then you can just go ahead and get some glass cut - they do it to any size...

This is a great shop with a great selection of bulbs, super friendly staff, would have loved to…read morehave been able to brought a bunch of bulbs to add to my collection. Best selection I've seen in a long time. Highly Recommended

I do love the rarity of some of Mr. Midleton's seedly offerings. This out of the way garden shop…read morewaaaay at the top of Mary Street is a haven of hard to find seeds, plantings and tools. I was delighted by the relatively large selection of bird and squirrel feed available, only to be depressed at the knowledge that the cramped balcony of my city centre digs are no place to tempt fluffy, feathery creatures. There's plenty of scope for learning to plant, as the staff here are mostly gardeners themselves and happy to share ideas. I'm thinking if I clear out the balcony and lay down a few sod rolls, I could have a decent veggie patch by mid-summer...

I called in here this morning to ask about a certain type of shower curtain. I waited a couple of…read moreminutes as the two staff were dealing with customers. I wondered around looking at the showroom, I looked up and realised one of the costumers was walking out. So I approached the desk area again, the chap leaving rolled his eyes up and said " good luck, you will need it" I asked the staff member about what I was looking for. "No, we don't have that" she turned away from me and began chatting to a lady that had come in, I think she was another member of staff or a friend. I said "excuse me" she replied " wait " I walked out obviously, thinking I'll spend my money up the road. On the way out I noticed exactly what I was looking for. Disappointing.

I was horrified this morn, half way through September, to hear an ad on the radio for Christmas…read moreparties... the first Christmas ad of the season... good god, where did that last year go? Anyway as I mulled over all things festive I happened to be on Sandymount avenue and there are the gates to Enable Ireland and their great little garden centre where I have gotten our Christmas tree for the last 4 years. I wander in, and realise that there is more here than trees and plants; they have garden tools and pellets, compost and oddly enough a selection of posters saying things like you 'don't have to be crazy to work here' yada yada yada. They also have a display of Ballydongan pottery (nope, never heard of it either) jolly nice as it happens. The garden centre is part on Enable Ireland so when you shop there you are not only getting some very nice greenery (or dodgy plaques/posters) but your cash is doing some extra good.... which is nice.

...and one day i found myself really getting into the gardening thing…read more.. but alas, i needed supplies. SUPPLIES!!! and my searches all ended up in tiny TINY little places where i had to dig underneath things to find other things and generally didn't find many things i needed at all. so imagine my thrill at finding Avenue Garden Centre. not only is it larger than a cupboard, they have loads of things. they have an entire area dedicated to ginormous bags of compost. another area just for pots. short of flying back to the america and going to home depot, it's the best garden store i've found within throwing distance of city centre. yes, i'm sure there are more magical places out in the burbs, but please people, i don't have a car and i don't fancy hauling 50kg bags of compost around on the LUAS. i'm sure you can understand. i was able to get there on DART, find the things i needed (and then some) and hail a nice lady cabbie (i know, right?) to get it all back to the house for me. luckily, i also had Husband with me to do the heavy lifting. oh i should also mention that the staff was also extremely helpful and friendly. i didn't feel like a complete retard asking them for help. that's a bonus in my book :)

I loved this garden centre, until my visit today. I visit the centre to purchase a pizza oven. It…read morelook me 15 minutes to find someone to help me. I was then asked to wait a further 15 minutes for tge help. I then waited 20 for the item to be told there was none left. I had checked the day before and they were in stock. I was then told that what I wanted was not good and they said they are better ones, which are very very expensive. Very poor costumer service. I think they were in stock and they were trying to get more money from me. Very disappointed.

I lost count how often I drove past this Nursery and just because it's a tiny entrance I never…read moreconsidered going there (well, plus the fact that I live in an apartment without balcony, so it's not often that I need plants). Bad mistake. This time I needed a nice plant as a present so seeing they are basically on my doorstep I drove in - what a surprise. It's actually a quite big nursery with a rather big car park too. Looking to find the best suitable plant for my friend I looked at almost all plants on display. And they all looked great with good prices. Together with pots and other gardening related items it's definitely now a place on my map. The staff was very nice and obviously enjoyed working there.