Artist Profile I Thru the Garden Gate

The Roving Flower Shop

Mobile Merriment and Beautiful Bouquets

By Patrice Doucet

Beth Dubois enjoys seeing the look on the faces of passersby when they realize what she’s selling from her charming vintage truck. With the only mobile flower truck in Acadiana, Thru the Garden Gate, she has drawn stares and business, bringing fresh blooms and bouquets to the public and special events in New Iberia and the surrounding area.

Before COVID, flower gardening was just a hobby for Dubois. She worked as a coordinator of senior adult group travels, but when business stopped during the pandemic, she made the decision to go from arranging travels to arranging flowers.

“I decided to get my horticulture and floral licenses with the intent of getting a job as a floral designer,” says Dubois. “Once I had my licenses, though, the only job I could find was delivering flowers for a local florist. I couldn’t imagine just dropping off flowers; I wanted to do what I learned. Then a friend in Tennessee told me they have flower trucks there, and she started me on that journey. It’s been a peaceful, beautiful and delightful world of flowers.”

Dubois hit the road with Thru the Garden Gate in 2021 after purchasing a cyan blue ’96 Daihatsu, better known as Blue. “I bought it from a dealer in North Carolina online,” she says smiling. “After I got it, I wanted to paint it, but the body shop guy I took it to advised me not to.”

Blue carries buckets of fresh bouquets and vibrant bundles of hardy, seasonal flowers that include snapdragons, carnations, alstroemeria, daisy pom poms, and spray roses along with flowy greenery like seeded eucalyptus.

Customers can hand-pick their favorite flowers to create their own bouquet or choose from a variety of “grab and go” arrangements made by Dubois.

With curb appeal galore, the truck is a traveling business card to which customers are curiously drawn. “Everyone is either oohing and ahhing over the buckets of flowers, or the men want to buy my truck,” says Dubois, who’s gotten a few offers. “Customers are often overwhelmed with how to choose the flowers,” she observes. “Some are in a hurry and grab ready-made arrangements; others pick flowers they like, and I’ll make the arrangement, wrapped in brown paper. I love seeing the younger couples come up, and the guy has the girl pick out flowers. I always try to do something extra special to encourage them to continue that gesture.”

Limited to traveling within speed limits of 55 mph or less requires Dubois to plan her path, often taking longer routes. With no air conditioning in the truck, she putts along with her posies in spring and fall, or favorable winter days. The truck has become an unexpected but welcomed sight at birthday parties and baby and wedding showers.

Nothing fosters a sense of community quite like a flower truck (second only to an ice cream truck, but…) The roaming little garden brings a cheerful assortment of colors wherever it parks. Though she has a cooler at home, Dubois says she’s always balancing between knowing how many flowers to purchase and guessing the foot traffic. She prefers to park the truck at areas she knows will be more crowded, including craft shows like those at New Iberia’s City Park and Shadows-on-the-Teche in the spring and fall and, occasionally, at River Ranch, posting her plans on Instagram via the handle @ThruTheGardenGateFlowers.

From her home, Dubois also makes unique arrangements for special events including small weddings. She has a good eye for matching colors and textures in making a looser, more natural-looking arrangement, and she’s known as much for her choice of unique containers, which can all be viewed on her Instagram.

It turns out that Dubois has fallen into her dream job and shares that she wishes she’d started her mobile flower truck business much sooner. “I love making arrangements and meeting people,” she says. “I’d like to think I’m spreading happiness. When I have a bouquet on my counter, it makes me smile. So I hope my flowers lighten and brighten the day and bring a good mood to someone.”