Shoparound: Seriously spirally box plant, bumblebee welcome mats and more lanterns than you can shake a stick at - Formality at The Cowshed in Glasthule is a one-stop-shop for garden furnishings.

Oversized lanterns for use in the conservatory and the back garden are big this season, according to manger Martin Scott. The shop - which moved from Monkstown to Glasthule two years ago - has enough to host a small Chinese lantern festival. Smart distressed grey metal lanterns are priced from €22 going up to €72 for a 90cm lantern.

For a more exotic feel, go for a range of wooden lanterns which are priced from €25.70. Shiny black wall-mounted lanterns cost from €35.

A leading supplier of topiary and architectural specimen plants, Formality specialises in box, which can be purchased in all sorts of shapes and sizes - spirals, pyramids, sphere and the traditional lollypop shape.

The shop has extended its range of planters to include copper, lead, teak, terrazzo and zinc. Prices go from €30 to €300.

We like the architectural looking cube-shaped slate-effect planters made from fibre clay (a mix of concrete and fibre glass). They cost €22-€90.

Star of the show in the shop at the moment is the new arrival - a summerhouse from UK company HSP. Finished in a pleasing Farrow & Ball London Stone paint, the cute garden house proves that you don't need a massive garden to have a fancy outdoor room.

It's perfect in the small and leafy courtyard of the shop. Priced between €16,000 and €18,000, it's not cheap but that didn't seem to faze the six buyers who snapped one up in the last eight weeks.

If your budget is not up to that, check out Formality's great range of fun and funky outdoor mats.

Cows, bumblebees, ladybirds and pretty roses feature on hard-wearing outdoor mats. Prices from €25.

Formality at The Cowshed, Glasthule, County Dublin. 01 2808071