Food and flowers at new cafe

The sweet scent of blooms and coffee mingle together in the open space at a new flower shop and cafe on Church St.

The quirky businesses matches the character of the rest of the street and owners Sara-Lee Dabinette and Marcia Nicholls are excited for the future of their joint venture.

Miss FlowerGirl is Dabinette’s creation, a place where her passion becomes her work.

‘‘I’ve been a florist forever, it’s just who I am, I couldn’t imagine my life without it,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s how I help people communicate too so if they want to say something to someone whether it’s just ‘thinking of you’, ‘I love you’, ‘I’m sorry’... It’s using nature, which I think is very healing.’’

Nicholls owns Wilden Wild Flower Cafe which is named after her grandparents’ block of land, she said it was her grandmothers ‘‘happy place’’ and it is her first business.

She started working in hospitality when she was 14 and has enjoyed baking her whole life.

The treats made for the cafe are all organic and she grows her own edible flowers that are incorporated into the nibbles.

The two have been friends for five years, they first met when they were both working as florists and fast became friends.

Now they want to create a ‘‘genuine’’ place for customers to come to have a break from the daily grind.

‘‘We want people to be able to have a nice wee escape as well,’’ Nicholls said.

‘‘Sometimes when you go to get a coffee you just want a bit of a time-out and this is a gorgeous environment to get that in.’’

They begun renovations on the shop two months ago and have done everything themselves and with the help of loved ones.

‘‘We did the tiling, my daughters and I, we ripped up all the carpets and just got stuck in. The tables were built from old doors so it’s just using what we’ve got to make it work,’’ Dabinette said.

The shop and cafe officially opens on Friday