Fun flowers

The Crazy Daisy Flower Truck delivers bouquets in a VW van

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If Michelle Hornung isn’t wearing scrubs, then she’s covered in dirt.

Hornung, a full-time nurse in an orthopedic unit and an amateur home gardener, came up with the idea of a mobile flower truck about 11 years ago. She envisioned it as a spot where people could build their own bouquets. After all, she says, “Who doesn’t love flowers?” But she put the idea on the back burner due to her nursing job and a side business running a photo booth.

This spring, with the growing popularity of food trucks and other mobile boutiques, Hornung realized it was time to seize the moment.

She and her husband began looking on eBay for just the right vehicle and found a classic 1969 VW Transporter van for sale from a vintage car dealer in Huntington Beach, California. She called the dealer, who wanted to know her plan for the VW. When he learned that she was going to sell flowers from it, he shipped her the Transporter’s title within two days. Shortly after that, the van arrived on a hauler to her driveway in Sun Prairie.

Next, Hornung needed flowers. She wanted to source her flowers locally, so she contacted Fair Field Flowers, a cooperative partnership of five flower farms located in south central Wisconsin, including Sunborn Gardens in Mount Horeb and Mad Lizzie’s Flower Farm in Cross Plains.

Then she needed a name. As the recipient of several “DAISY” awards (which celebrate nurses who provide extraordinary compassionate and skillful care), Hornung has become known as “Daisy” to her friends and colleagues.

The “crazy” comes from her willingness to start the business with no background in flowers besides her garden at home.

The Crazy Daisy Flower Truck debuted May 20 at the Main Street Market in Rockford, Illinois, an event with 170 vendors. Hornung sold out of flowers in three-and-a-half hours, despite the pouring rain.

In the Madison area, Crazy Daisy Flower Truck vends at the Prairie Lakes Farmers’ Market in Sun Prairie, a new market in its first season. It’s held on Thursdays from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at 2824 Prairie Lakes Drive.

The back of Hornung’s van is filled with freshly harvested flowers and a wrapping station with classic brown florist’s paper and teal jute. Customers can build their own bouquets from available flowers, or choose an already made bunch. Bouquets cost between $9 and $15, and there’s the option of putting the flowers in a vintage blue Mason jar for a few dollars extra.

Hornung says she is open to more vending in the Madison area, but is taking it slow for now so she doesn’t overextend. Customers can check her schedule at facebook.com/CrazyDaisyFlowerTruck.