At The Flower Paddock, we use a vintage 1950’s horse trailer as our farm stand. The stand, affectionately called “The Flower Trailer,” was in rough shape when it was pulled out of a field in West Texas last winter! No one is quite sure how long it had been sitting out there exposed to the elements, waiting for its next chapter. She was rusty. . .very, very rusty, when we were introduced to her. But, after nearly 70 years her frame was solid and completely intact. So, we decided to take a chance, figuring. . .They don’t make trailers like they used to!
The process of creating a plan for converting the trailer was a bit overwhelming at first. It took some research and a lot of imagination to figure out how to make an old horse trailer work for this kind of business. We had seen horse trailers converted into mobile bars, food stands, even pop-up clothing boutiques, but a mobile flower stand from an old horse trailer, not so much. Because, there were not many actual “flower trailers“ in use out there that we could directly model ours after, so we had to look primarily at existing flower trucks for ideas. We also had to hone-in on function and what changes were needed to the trailer so that it would truly provide that for us. Pinterest and Instagram ended-up being great resources.
When it came to the actual “hand’s on” metal and woodwork that needed to be done, we left those jobs up to the experts! The majority of the trailer’s renovations were completed in Texas by The Austin Trailer Company, with additional renovations completed here in Greenfield Center after delivery by Adirondack Rustica Designs. We are very thankful for all their hard work and for getting us up and operating for the 2023 flower season!
It was hard to envision that this could become a pretty backdrop for selling beautiful flowers-with all that rust! But, with some new sheet metal, a heavy spray of new ivory paint, lots of stained shiplap and pine flooring, and a specially designed shelf to hold bouquet vases for display. . .it became just that. She is now a beautiful little gem that sits at the Wilton Road entrance to our farm, greeting our friends and neighbors as they pull in and spilling over with buckets of flowers in every color of the rainbow. It makes us smile every time we come around the bend and to see her there.
Come pay us a visit and check out The Flower Trailer for yourself! It is regularly open Wednesday – Sunday from 10am -5pm. All bouquets and arrangements are self-serve and we accept cash (place in the black mailbox inside the back doors), PayPal and Venmo payments. This season we will be open until mid-September. See You Soon!