Help, I urgently need a cactus, it’s an emergency! That’s what I said to the lady behind the counter in Bunch Me Up as I stumbled through the door in somewhat of a panic. I’ve no idea what she thought as a sweaty, panting mess ran in to the shop and begged for help, but she remained very calm and didn’t call the police, which is always a good start. I was heading to the tube station to meet a friend when I suddenly realised that the reason the said friend was coming to Walthamstow, was because it was her birthday. I had completely forgotten it was her birthday so I had bought her precisely nothing. Thankfully, Bunch Me Up saved me, and saved her from getting yet another bath bomb from the Body Shop.
Bunch me up is the little florist in the Mall shopping centre. What it lacks in size it makes up for in variety. As you would expect, it being a florist and all, the shop sells fresh flowers, but it has lots of other stock. The life saving cacti are joined by succulents such as Aloe plants, dragon trees, polka dot plants, bonsai trees, and fly traps. I did think about getting my friend a fly trap, but then remembered that the last time she had one her daughter tried to feed it the hamster, so decided against it. The shop also sells air plants, do you remember those? They were big in the 90’s. They don’t have roots, you just spray them with water and gaze at them trying to figure out if they are alive or dead.
I bought my friend a little rock cactus. Someone once told me they were good to put next to computer monitors, they absorb what ever it is screens emit and stop you getting headaches. At least I think that’s true, anyway that’s what I told her and she seemed to believe me. The cactus was a fiver, which I thought was a decent price. Some of the other plants are more expensive, it really depends on how big they are. As well as offering relationship saving plants, Bunch Me Up provide a same day delivery service, and a subscription service, so there really is a massive amount going on inside this little shop. It’s nice to see a small independent retailer operating from inside the Mall. Shopping centres are so often the kingdom of the chain store, and independents don’t often get a look in.
If like me you leave present shopping until the last minute, or you fancy some greenery to brighten up your window sill, you’ll find Bunch Me Up near the Town Square end of the Mall. You can also read more about them, and order flowers and plants on their web site.
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