Keep On Trucking
Story and photos by Meda Kessler
The bright blue Suzuki truck filled with buckets of flowers became a constant at pop-ups, festivals and farmers markets the last couple of years. And then there was Tucker, the now 9-year-old yellow Lab who served as the namesake and mascot for Tucker’s Flower Stop.
The brainchild of Andrew Rotzoll, the flower truck business was so successful that he had to rely on family members, especially dad Jeff, to help out.
But with Andrew in college and Tucker ready to retire to a soft dog bed at home, the Rotzolls put the truck up for sale, determined to pass it on to someone who would love and grow the flowers-on-wheels business.
They eventually connected with Mauri Williams, an Austin transplant who makes her home in the Cultural District. The 27-year-old loves gardening in general and flowers in particular. To stretch her growing space, she plants not only in her yard but in the “hell strips” along the curb. (She has offered to do the same for her neighbors.)
Williams got a lot of encouragement from family and friends, as well as from neighbors who walked by her home and stopped to admire the efforts of her green thumb.
Cut-flower gardens require scheduled plantings to keep up with the seasons, and Williams used her time off from work during the pandemic to tend to a bountiful spring crop. Honing her floral design skills, she delivered arrangements and scheduled porch pickups.
Mauri Williams’ favorite blooms are those that come from her garden. They’re suitable for mix-and-match arrangements that are perfectly imperfect.
And then she connected with the Rotzolls. The truck was the answer to expanding her business, and it’s now renamed Peacock Farm & Flower.
“Peacock Farm is the name of the farm where my great-grandfather lived and gardened his entire life. It was straight out of a fairy tale with wildflowers, lily ponds, cactus courtyards and roaming peacocks. The same farm is where I planted my first roses. It just seemed fitting to pay homage to such a special place.”
Williams has been a mainstay at The Clearfork Farmers Market on Saturdays. She offers a variety of blooms, sold by the stem or as an arrangement. Choose from the “Farm Fresh” bucket and you’ll get a more natural-looking bouquet composed entirely of cut blooms from Williams’ organic garden.
The hot summer was challenging, but Williams is looking forward to fall and next spring, especially. She already has a new addition to the family, a classic VW van now named Blue Belle. “Jeff [Rotzoll] has been involved in this project, too,” says Williams, who hopes to use the van for more than flowers (mobile bar, anyone?).
“It’s been a happy honeymoon so far,” she says, talking about her first season. “I had thought about going to law school, but this is much more satisfying.”
THE DETAILS
Peacock Farm & Flower Find the mobile flower truck at The Clearfork Farmers Market every Saturday (check social media for updates), facebook.com/peacockfarmandflower or Instagram @peacock_farmandflower. To contact Peacock Farm & Flower, email mauriwilliams@gmail.com or call 512-364-6003.