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Best buds sell fresh buds from rolling flower shop

The vintage vehicle attracts men and women alike. The men tend to stare at the truck while the women browse up to 30 varieties of freshly cut flowers in the back.
Credit: Bobby Lewis, WTSP

Stephanie Newton jokes that the best advertising for her business comes when it breaks down on the side of the road. It’s hard to miss an old dropside truck with flowers in the back.

“The flowers behave a lot better than my teenagers,” she said.

The only reason she and Tina Mott even decided to buy the 1968 VW was because of Mott’s daughter. She saw a flower truck rolling around town near her college in Tennessee and suggested Tina start up something similar back home.

“It took six weeks to get it all together,” said the recent empty-nester. “Most people are always smiling. They’re excited to be at the truck, to see the truck.”

The vintage vehicle attracts men and women alike. The men tend to stare at the truck while the women browse up to 30 varieties of freshly cut flowers in the back.

Mott and Newton were mildly interested in flowers before starting Posies Flower Truck in November, but are now spending up to six days per week parking their eye-catching business all over Tampa Bay.

“We’re surprised how far they drive just to come get flowers,” said Mott.

Faith Campbell and Lacey Henning made the drive from Wesley Chapel to downtown Tampa on Thursday to celebrate Campbell’s 15th birthday with a bouquet from Posies Flower Truck. The church friends heard about Posies on Instagram. Posies has over 5,500 followers in just four months because of colorful posts from flower lovers.

“It’s great if they looked good but I want them to smell good as well,” said Newton. “Peonies are my favorite.”

The truck rotates around Largo, St. Petersburg and Tampa and updates the location through an online calendar. Customers pay by the stem and can choose as many or few flowers as they want for their colorful creations.

“Tampa Bay needs a flower truck,” said Newton with a smile. “There is nothing like this here.”

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