Indigo Florists is one of two great florists on Splott Road. Indigo is in many ways the more…read moreprogressive and modern of the two, and also sells a small range of iconic gift items, like the Betty Boop ornaments that seem to be so popular at the moment. These compliment the flowers and plants that they carry really well. Indigo Florists carry top quality blooms and specialise in hand tied bouquets that look amazing. As with most florists they cater for special occasions including; weddings, funerals and special events such as parties, as well as providing a top notch service to corporate clients. There's another quality florist in the area, which happens to be a couple of doors down from Indigo. Rolfes The Florists is a flower shop that also stocks a good selection of plants as well as locally sourced fruit and vegetables. 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 other special events. Whilst Indigo carries a range of iconic gift items Rolfes do something similar in that they sell a selection of cuddly toys that can be sold with or without a flower arrangement. Indigo is the only one of the two that offers balloons.

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.

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.

other than Health With Herbs at 124 Cowbridge Road East. Laura's would therefore be a fruiterers…read moreand florist of distinction by default if it weren't for the fact that it would still earn this title even if half of the fruit and veg shops of Cardiff were lumped together in a row. Run by a husband and wife team who really take care of their business, and stocking everything that you could ever feasibly wish for at extremely affordable prices. They even had beautiful doughnut peaches in the last time I paid them a visit. Delicious! It's just a shame that there isn't an equally good butchers across the road to compliment their efforts. Instead there's a Tesco's!

There are some shops which will survive the times, no matter what. They're like cockroaches While…read moreall the supermarkets crumble and burn, these shops will forever remain sturdy and loved. It's amazing really! This greengrocers sells some of the loveliest fruit and vegetable that you'll find. It makes such a nice change to be able to walk into a shop and see earth and leaves and think, oh yes, that's right, vegetables come from the ground! And apples grow on trees. It's all too easy to forget this when you're just picking up plastic bags of fruit from the supermarket. The service here is wonderfully friendly, and they never fail to stock beetroot and rhubarb when I want it most. Satisfactory indeed, my friends. This is a definitive cockroach shop, in a good way! If only Laura's was in Penarth instead, then it would pretty much be perfect.

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!

Beautiful flower arrangement, including the special flowers I asked for to be included, for my…read moreDad's funeral. Excellent service. Thank you.

If you are visiting Wales then the Wales Millennium Centre is a must - its one of the top 5 in…read moreCardiff. If i were you I'd definitely coincide your visit with a show at the centre. Whilst waiting for the show you can have a drink in one of the coffee shops in the centre or you could use that time to pick up a little Welsh gift from the centre's gift shop, Portmeirion. A bit of back ground - Portmeirion is is a popular tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village and has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously serving as The Village in the 1960s television show The Prisoner. Portmeirion the brand is named after this place and its outlet in the centre sells gifts such as china, books, childrens gifts and Portmeirion pottery. Apparently, "All products reflect both the artistic ethos and the cultural spirit of Wales Millennium Centre" It a nice little place to waste a bit of time - you won't necessarily pick up a bargain here though.