Barrett’s Showplace Gardens & Flower Shop has proudly served Adrian and the greater Lenawee area for over 60 years. Started in 1954 by Robert Barrett, the business began as a supplier of gardening goods operating from the bay of his gas station garage and quickly grew with the community’s support. After only two years he, his wife Rosaleen, and her brother Richard Marvin expanded the business into its present location at 1033 W. Beecher Street. There, they established Barrett’s as a reliable provider of bulk seed supply, vegetable starts, and Christmas trees. Their son John grew up in the business, and when Robert passed away, he and his wife JoAnne carried on and expanded upon that legacy.

Between 1975 and 2021, John and JoAnne Barrett continued to grow the unique, year-round green business with more greenhouses, a larger store, and its own in-house flower shop. Barrett’s flourished and weathered change while always providing the best products and customer service. In time, Barrett’s has become associated with taking the extra step to meet the gardening needs of the community, always ensuring that each customer is met with the highest-quality service and staff expertise.

John and JoAnne Barrett couldn’t retire until they knew Barrett’s was placed in the right hands. They found Matt Carpenter, a 4th generation Adrian farmer who
was looking for the right opportunity to apply his agricultural strengths to a retail business. Matt purchased Barrett’s in the spring of 2022 and now operates both Barrett’s and Carpenter Farms, where he and his family grow row crops and open their barn to the public for seasonal agritourism events.

Matt and his family have celebrated 35 seasons of growing pumpkins at Carpenter Farms. Their farm specializes in bringing the joy of farm life into the greater
community. The rhythm of the seasons brings pumpkins in the fall and flowers in the spring. The Carpenter family enjoys sharing this experience with the public—they have created their farm as a haven of good memories and a connection to agriculture.

At Barrett’s, Matt quickly discovered a team of dedicated employees who bring lifetimes of growing experience and knowledge to their roles. With the varied garden center offerings and full-service flower shop, Barrett’s is able to supply goods and services that add value and joy to Adrian and the wider Lenawee region while demonstrating continued commitment to maintaining the classic Barrett’s customer experience, with an emphasis on strong customer relationships and staff expertise.

Local businesses help small towns retain character and charm and Barrett’s is devoted to maintaining that atmosphere. With the leadership of Matt, Barrett’s
has taken on a reinvigorated commitment to serve our customers with the best quality products and exceptional customer service that Barrett’s customers have grown to expect.

We thank you for your continued business with Barrett’s and hope that you’ll find many opportunities to grow with us.