Bloomin' Barn in Swansea Getting in the Dirt for over 25 Years

George Parent and his wife have been running the Bloomin’ Barn in Swansea for more than 25 years, but he says it hasn’t felt that long.

“This isn’t work for me,” he said.

Parent said he originally opened the barn 25 years ago, but said he has been in the growing business since he was a kid as a farmer.

“I always had farming, even when I was a kid,” he said. “I planted four or five acres of corn. I also took up cow farming. I always had farming, even when I was a kid.”

Parent said he went to Bristol Agricultural College and worked on the Chase Farm in Swansea, but he ended up going into the construction, tool making and carpentry business.

Originally, his wife ran a garden center up the road, selling flowers and pants, while he did construction, Parent said, adding that he continued that for about 10 years, and after moving to the current location, the business took off so well they could both do it full time.

“I just didn’t have any more free time to do carpentry,” he said.

Parent said the business has changed over the years. He said originally a lot of his business was in tele-flowers, sending flowers to people who needed them, but that dropped off so now he expanded into gardening plants and coy ponds.

“We sell everything you can think of for ponds,” he said.

He said it opened the business up, and allowed him to operate all through the season, as ponds and pond maintenance are a year-round activity.

“Mostly the people that come in here are homeowners and they just want expert advice for their new pond,” he said. “We had a spring seminar recently and over 70 people showed up. Since we started with the pond stuff it just never ends.”

Parent said he contracts out the maintenance and cleaning of the ponds every year. He said it’s definitely not easy but he really enjoys it.

“At the end of the day I might be tired but I don’t consider this work like when I did carpentry,” he said. “Tool making was very stressful. You maybe work on a two-inch piece for a month and you could junk it five minutes if you messed up. I used to like it but it was more stressful than peaceful.”

He said the shop has everything needed for ponds, including water plants like lilies and lotuses, regular plants for landscaping, 40-gallon tank, fish food and a gift shop.

The Bloomin’ Barn is located on 279 Gardners Neck Rd. in Swansea and holds to the following hours:

Monday - 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tue 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Wed 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Thur 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Fri 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sat 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.