A PLANT shop in Newport will reopen this month at a new central location and under new ownership.

The new home of Nettle and Bark will be in the recently renovated Newport Arcade, which connects High Street to Cambrian Road.

Emma Hargreaves is the new owner, and the 33-year-old said she was looking forward to running her first business.

"During lockdown I realised my wellbeing needed a lift and I needed to do something to help my mental health, so I started collecting and growing houseplants," she told the Argus.

"I then saw the opportunity of buying Nettle and Bark and it was a dream come true."

South Wales Argus: Emma Hargreaves is the new owner of the Nettle and Bark plant shop. Picture: Emma HargreavesEmma Hargreaves is the new owner of the Nettle and Bark plant shop. Picture: Emma Hargreaves (Image: Emma Hargreaves)

The shop's previous owners ran the business out of a premises in Clytha Park Road, but Mrs Hargreaves, who is originally from Snowdonia but moved to the area as a student, said the new location in the arcade "works perfectly".

Ahead of the opening this week, she said she was feeling "some nerves but mainly excitement" and saw the project as "an extremely exciting time for all of my family".

She added: "I have an amazing husband who is very supportive of this new adventure."

Nettle and Bark will stock "an amazing a unusual selection of plants and cacti," Mrs Hargreaves said. "We will have a selection of pots, hangers and plant items made by local independent makers.

"There will be a real focus on being environmentally-friendly and sustainable, with all compost being peat free and some plants being peat free/plastic free and pesticide free. 

"We will be doing monthly workshops that will include pottery, foraging, plant medicine, drawing and much more."

She also said the new shop would serve as a "little plant oasis in the city, that people can come in to and have a moment of calm".

South Wales Argus: The Nettle and Bark plant shop is opening at a new location in Newport Arcarde. Picture: Nettle and BarkThe Nettle and Bark plant shop is opening at a new location in Newport Arcarde. Picture: Nettle and Bark (Image: Nettle and Bark)

Previous Nettle and Bark owners Will Green and Alexia McCalmont-Green will continue to run their other business, Rogue Fox Coffee House, in Clytha Park Road.

Thanking customers for their support, they said on social media Nettle Bark was "definitely passing into the right hands and [we are] so excited to see how it grows in the future".