Twice now I’ve gone to Gardens Centre with a very specific list of things I need – a trip I would previously have gone to the V&A Waterfront for. Now I realise, what’s the point?

Why drive all that way, when Gardens Centre clearly has it all? And I’ll be clear in telling you this article is not paid for – I have brought the topic up in conversation, and there happens to be a large number of obsessive fans out there – including myself.

A group of us got a bit oiled the other night and started talking about Gardens Centre for EASILY an hour. Weird, right? Not really, when you consider the impact a stressful shopping experience has on your life. For me, I’ve reached a point where I can’t go to the V&A Waterfront after 10am. Look, it’s a great centre and has great variety, but I guess it just has a time and place for me. Right now that time and place is not when I need to grab four nails, a set of dinner plates, hooves for the dog, Myprodol, an avocado, Hendrick’s gin, a gas refill for my camping stove, some biltong and Redken Maneuver hair gel.

And speaking of variety, I must ask the question, does the V&A Waterfront even have a hardware store? Or a bottle shop? I don’t think it does. And if it does, I have no idea where it would be.

Gardens Centre has a vida e. It has an @home. There is a Cape Union Mart, a Clicks, a Woolies, a Pick n Pay. There’s RAITH’s, for God’s sake. And then, added onto that, is a smorgasbord of speciality shops that actually catapults Gardens Centre into a specialist boutique genre, usually reserved for wealthy European towns and cities.

Have you seen that authentic cheese shop upstairs, with that woman behind the counter? WTF, is this, Cap Ferrat?

It’s pure awesome.

And did you see they’ve got that new boutique kitchenware shop? I can’t remember the name, but OMG, you’ll die!

A Wellness Warehouse has opened there as well now I see – just around the corner from Norman Goodfellows, the best liquor store I have ever encountered. In. My. Life.

Check out their list of shops here. All they need now is a Puma, a Sunglass Hut and a Louis Vuitton, and I will never have to leave.

The best thing about it all? My parking cost R6.

SIX BUCKS!

It’s outrageous. 

Gardens Centre website can be found HERE.

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DISCLAIMER: This article was not paid for, nor was any trade given.