With the mild temperatures lately, our feathered friends have found food on their own fairly well.  It won’t be long, however, when nesting begins and the food source dries up.  Wild birds need other things that they can’t find this time of year in nature.  They need lot’s of fatty things like Black Oil Sunflower, Safflower, and Suet.  We stock the complete line of Lyric Supreme Wild Bird Food.  Scotts Songbird Selections is also part of our premium wild bird food line up.  Squirrels a problem?  Try Cole’s Hot Meats or Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce.  It won’t harm the birds, just repels the squirrels.  Squirrel Away by C and S works the same way – hot pepper oils.  Squirrell proof feeders are very popular and we stock the complete line of Droll Yankee Whippers, Tippers, Flippers, and Tippers.  The Squirrel Buster and Buster Plus are also very effective against squirrels.

We have houses and feeders from Duncraft, Audubon, and Woodlink.  We are currently expanding the Wild Bird Dept so stop in soon, check out the great selelction and don’t forget to ask for your Wild Bird Frequent Feeder Savings Card – the checkout staff will assist you. 

Winter is also a great time to brighten the home on the inside with beautiful flowering tropical plants, foliage, bromeliads, and orchids.  Fresh plants from Florida, California, and Hawaii arrive every 2 weeks into our greenhouse.  Choose a brightly colored pot to go with your plant purchase and we can re-pot it for you while you wait.  Just see one of our greenhouse staff for help.

Finally, just because it may be cold outside, it doesn’t mean you can’t grill and smoke just like summertime.  We are Baltimore’s only Weber Alliance dealer with the complete line Weber One-Touch charcoal and Genesis and Summit gas grills.  We offer free assembly on every grill purchase.  A complete line of parts and accessories is always in stock.  Need service on your Weber grill?  Winter is a great time to schedule a service or cleaning before the Spring rush.  We are a Big Green Egg dealer and one of Baltimore’s most complete “Egg Head” destinations.  A huge selection of sauces, smoker woods, rubs, and grilling supplies compliments our Big Green Egg and Weber grill area.

Sign up for emails and you will receive valuable coupons regularly during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons.  Happy Wintertime from Watson’s!

We are fully stocked with all your Raven party and decorating needs.  All kinds of flags, banners, buntings, doormats, drinkware, purple LED lights, and much much more is available.  We have a great selection of Ravens gloves, scarves, and knit hats for cold winter days and YES, even a HOME GAME on January 15th at M&T Bank Stadium!  Stop in soon.  Ride by the store at night and see our 20′ tall purple LED lighted tree!  It is gorgeous!!!

January is the time for resolutions.  Let’s all resolve to feed the birds more.  We have a huge selection of wild bird feeders and wild bird seed.  Choose from the complete line of Lyric Wild Bird Food, Scott’s Songbird Choice, and our traditional in-house blend.  With the true cold arriving in January, it is time to feed a more fatty type of food so the birds can store energy in winter.  Black oil Sunflower provides an abundance of needed fat for our feathered friends.  Suet is also a great source of nutrition during winter months.  We also stock a great selection of Finch type feeders including the upside down kind.  Thistle is the preferred food for finches this time of year.

January is usually associated with seed catalogs and seed starting supplies.  Check out our full line of packaged seeds for starting indoors during winter.  Soils, seed trays, heating mats are also available. 

Finally – don’t forget we are Baltimore’s largest and the only Alliance Weber grill dealer.  The full line of Weber gas and charcoal grills is in stock and ready for your Raven’s party celebrations.  Propane tanks are filled 7 days a week from open til close.

In The Garden:  Spring/Summer color has run its course and is very tired looking.  Time for some gorgeous Fall blooming pansies, hardy mums, and flowering cabbage and kale.  There are dozens for Fall Blooming Proven Winners and Fall Magic flowering plants for the garden and containers.  Ornamental grasses are typically at their peak blooming time in October and lend a rustic look to pots and the landscape.  Choose from miscanthus, fountain grass, and liriope for great Fall color.  Spring blooming bulbs like tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths are planted in the Fall.  Dozens of varieties are in stock. 

Don’t forget a dose of bone mean or Espoma Bulb Tone when planting your Fall bulbs.  Fall color in shrubs adds interest to the garden this time of year.  Our nursery has a great selection of burning bush, sedums, hydrangeas, and much more.  Replacing some summer damage?  We have a good selection of azaleas, hollies, laurel, and rhodos for the best time of year to plant – Fall.

Lawn Care:  With the rains hopefully gone, now is the time to get into the yard and seed and fertilize for a beautiful lawn next Spring.  Warm Fall days allow grass seed to germinate rapidly due to warm soil and morning dews.  Keeping the grass seeds moist for 2 full weeks is important for good germination and development of new grass plants.  Turf type tall fescues including Jonathan Green’s Black Beauty and Greenview’s Fairway Formulas are our preferred varieties for a strong, dark green, drought tolerant lawn.  Fall feeding is really important as it is this time of year the lawn wants and needs as much nitrogen to build and repair itself from summer damage.  We recommend feeding twice in Fall:  once Sept/Oct and once late November.  Need lime?  Chances are you do if you haven’t put lime down in the past 2 years.  A pH of 6.5-7.0 is what your lawn is wanting.  Dolomitic limes or Jonathan Green’s Mir-A-Cal are recommended.  Ask us for more details.

Outdoor Grilling:  Ravens Football is back and that means tailgating or entertaining at home friends and family.  Watson’s is Baltimore’s ONLY Weber Alliance dealer.  We carry everything Weber makes for tailgating and outdoor cooking.  We stock the entire line of Weber Q grills and accessories.  We also have the full line of Big Green Egg smokers and grills.  Need smoker woods?  We have Towson’s best selection smoker woods, smoker boxes, and hardwood lump charcoal.  Sign up for emails and receive regular emails with valuable coupons for $5.00 off 20lb. propane refills.  Propane refills – 7days – open til close – NO waiting.

Ravens Gear:  Watson’s has amassed the area’s largest selection of Ravens stuff.  Stop in and see dozens of newly arrived items including t-shirts, pullovers, jackets, knit caps, gloves, and scarves.  Need something for your lady Raven fan?  We have gorgeous stuff for the girls including ear rings, hand bags, Touch knit tops, gloves, and t-shirts.  Show your pride with strings of purple LED lights strewn outside and lighted at night for an eye-catching display.  Flags, banners, car flags, magnets, emblems, beer mugs, coaster, and much more can be found in our huge Ravens section.  Stop in soon.  Wear your purple on Fridays and GO RAVENS!!!!

Around the Lawn and Garden:  With Summer gone, time to get your lawn ready for Fall and Winter.  Fall is the best time to seed and feed your lawn.  Large  doses of nitrogen replenish nutrients lost to heavy rain and summer drought.  We recommend Greenview Fall Formulas for the best results next Spring.  Need lime?  If you haven’t limed in the past 2 years, chances are you need to do it soon.  We recommend Jonathan Green’s Mag- I-Cal lime formula for fast and easy spreading.  Are you a Turf Trust fan?  We have that too.  A good blend of Turf Type Tall Fescue is the recommended grass seed variety for the Baltimore area.  Tall Fescues handle drought and poor soil and fertilizer levels the best in the Lutherville and Towson areas.

Fall color is arriving daily.  Mums, asters, pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, ornamental grasses, and hardy Fall Proven Winners round out the selection for great fall planting.  Out in the Nursery, we have plenty of Fall plants with interest from color in leaf and flower.  A great selection of burning bush and ornamental grasses including miscanthus and fountain grass make for a garden with excellent Fall color and texture.  Hydrangeas, with their spent blooms, add interest to the garden and in most cases, the blooms can be dried and used in indoor arrangements.  Ornamental grasses produce fall plumes on the top of their graceful stalks.  These plumes last well into winter to add interest to the garden in cold weather.

Time also to start thinking about our feathered friends.  With certain food sources in short supply due to a hard summer and relentless rains, wild birds will need help storing energy for the upcoming winter.  We stock a large selection of wild bird food and feeders.  Lyric Wild Bird Food and Scotts Songbird Choice are our preferred blends for outdoor feeding.  We are also a destination for Droll Yankee bird feeders and accessories.  The Yankee Whipper, Dipper and Tipper are great feeders that are also fun to watch in action.

Outdoor Grilling and Tailgating:  Just because Summer is over, grilling season isn’t.  We have Baltimore’s Best Selection of Weber Charcoal and Gas Grills and the Big Green Egg line of Charcoal smokers and grills.  We are the area’s only Weber Alliance Dealer with the best selection of Weber Grilling Accessories and Replacement Parts.  Don’t forget we fill propane tanks 7 days a week – no waiting.  Sign up for our emails and receive $5.00 off coupons for propane refills.  Are you a Ravens Tailgating Animal?  Check out the only complete line of Weber Q Grills in Baltimore.  From the Q100 all the way up to the Q320, we have them and all the accessories that go with them.

Ravens Gifts and Gear:  Watson’s is Towson’s destination for a huge selection of Ravens Gear.  Tons of new arrivals include outdoor lighting, flags, banners and more.  We have Ravens watches, glasses, tumblers, t-shirts and sweatshirts, and rain gear too.  Need Ravens Purple Lights?  We have them and they are the best LED purple lights you can find anywhere!  Stop in and get your FREE Ravens Scoreboard Calendar with any purchase! 

Keeping Stink Bugs Out This Winter: Cooler temperatures bring out stink bugs. So what can you do to to protect your home from these smelly  bugs? Watson’s recommends Rescue Stink Bug Traps. The Stink Bug Trap lures the pests with a special blue LED attachment that plugs into a wall outlet. The stink bugs crawl or fly to the trap, walk up the green ‘fins’ and through the cone, once trapped inside the clear chamber they dehydrate. Best of all, it’s reusuable.

 In The Garden:  Watering takes on a larger role in our daily gardening routine.  Hot, dry summer days can stress plants not properly watered.  Some tips on watering include:  Water in the morning if possible to avoid wet leaves during the mid-day sun and to cool the soil and reduce disease incidence from watering in the evening.  Water the base of the plant and not the leaves so the moisture reaches the roots where water is taken in.  Water thoroughly and less frequently to improve a plant’s drought tolerance.  These tips will help improve your garden and lawn’s summer toughness.  Hoses and hose accessories from Swan, Gilmour, Nelson, Dramm, and Claber Gardenlife will maximize your time watering the garden.  Water saving items like timers, Flexon soaker hoses, and mulch help you conserve water and money.

Pests and disease can be problems in July in Baltimore.  Powdery mildew, rust, and leaf spot can invade the flower and vegetable garden almost overnight in our hot, steamy summer climate.  Ortho Garden Disease control is one of the best preventions and cures for all kinds of ornamentals and edible crops.  Spray every 2 weeks while symptoms last.  Mites, aphids, and whitefly can attack your garden this time of year, too.  Check the undersides of the leaves, stems, and new growth for signs of these pests.  Ortho Sevin, Malathion, insecticides containing Orthene (Acephate) and insecticidal soaps from Safer can usually control these problem bugs in your garden.  Spray insecticides and fungicides in the morning and never on very hot days to avoid burning the leaves.

 Around the Bar-B-Que:  Perhaps the best Summertime holiday is the 4th of July.  Everyone loves the holiday with its fireworks and outdoor family cookouts.  Who doesn’t love a juicy burger or steak just off the grill?  Watson’s is your 4th of July grilling destination with a full line of Weber and Big Green Egg grills and smokers.  We are the area’s only Weber Alliance dealer which means we stock everything Weber makes.  Are you a charcoal grilling fan?  We have the complete line of Weber One-Touch, Go Anywhere, and Performer charcoal grills.  Like to grill at the beach or tailgate?  The Q grill from Weber is for you.  Choose from 7 different Q models – all in stock here at Watson’s in Lutherville.  Need parts or accessories?  We stock parts for every Weber grill ever made.  Need a Weber rotisserie, Flavorizer bars, or cooking grates?  We have them.  Also checkout the complete line of Charcoal Companion grilling accessories including forks, spatulas, grilling baskets, and grilling timers.  Finally, don’t forget that we are a Suburban Propane refill station.  We refill 20lb propane tanks 7 days a week – no waiting!

 Watson’s Annual Sidewalk Sale:  Join us Saturday and Sunday, July 23rd and 24th for our annual Sidewalk Sale from 8am til 6pm both days.  All plants, statuary, pottery, greenhouse foliage, shrubs and trees, and much more will be marked down for huge saving for this once-a-season clearance and sale.  Delivery available for a charge.  Shop early for best selection.  All clearance and half price merchandise will be final sale.  Prior sales are excluded.  Sign up for our emails to receive timely offers and get more information as the sale date approaches.

In The Garden:  Time to start looking for annoying and destructive pests on your roses, vegetables, and landscape plants.  Aphids, mites, mealybugs and such can quickly invade the garden when the weather turns suddenly hot.  Plenty of solutions for these insects include Sevin, Orthene, and Permethrin-based sprays.  Fungus and disease can also suddenly appear especially on roses and broad leaf evergreens like azaleas and rhododendron.  Use Daconil-based sprays for the best results on diseased plants.  Feed roses, vegetables, and annuals every 2-3 weeks during the summer to keep them growing and producing the best results in blooms and fruit.

On The Lawn:  Perhaps it is time for a summer feeding of lawn fertilizer.  If you did not feed in May, it still is ok to put down fertilizer in June to keep the lawn looking healthy and thick for summer.  Use  Greenview Fairway Formula fertilizer for a thicker lawn that is also naturally weed resistant.  Avoid watering the lawn in the evening – morning is best to prevent disease and so the water has a chance to dry and cool the soil during the mid-day heat.  Spot treat weeds that do pop up with a ready-to-use weed killer such as Weed-B-Gon or Speedzone.

Outdoor Entertaining and Grilling:  Summer is barbeque time!  With Father’s Day and the Fourth of July coming up, time to get out the grill and fire up some burgers, steak and fish.  Check the grill for any worn cooking parts.  Check hoses and regulators for leaks.  Get the propane tank filled.  You can check out our extensive list of grill parts and accessories from Weber, Big Green Egg, and Charcoal Companion.  Lots of new items have arrived for 2011 including fish baskets, grilling grids, thermometers, and grill brushes.  For the patio, we have a great selection of citronella torches, candles, and bug repellent products.  Check out the great selection of outdoor cookware in our Gift Shop including Wilton Armetale pewter grilling grids.

Gifts For Dad:  Watson’s is famous for all kinds of great gift ideas for Father’s Day.  BBQ’s and all that goes with them is a top choice for gifts for Dad.  Weber grills, accessories, and grilling spices head the list.  Dad’s grill over 5 years old?  Maybe it is time to replace it.  We also are full line Big Green Egg smoker dealer with all the latest accessories to boot.  Is Dad a charcoal grilling fan?  Check out the new Weber Grill Out Table for the 22 1/2″ kettle grill.  Grill lights are also great gift add-ons.  In addition to our huge BBQ line, we have dozens of other gift ideas for Dad:  Felco Pruners, Grip Gloves, Black & Decker Outdoor Tools, The Bug Buster Bug Vacuum, Duncraft and Droll Yankee Bird Feeders, Hummingbird Feeders, Sloggers Garden Clogs, and much more.

Dad a Ravens or Orioles Fan?  We have tons of great Ravens and Orioles merchandise from flags and t-shirts to magnets, shot glasses, and beer mugs.  Check out our huge selection of Mr. Boh gadgets too.  For the Dad that gardens, we have a great selection of cacti, orchids, Encore Azaleas, and Knockout Roses.

Summer is here and the fun is just beginning.  Give us a call or stop in soon to see all the great items we have for summer gardening and outdoor fun!

We are bursting with loads of great flowering annuals, perennials, vegetable plants and herbs, flowering tropicals and much more.  Check out an incredible selection of hardy flowering shrubs including Encore Azaleas and Endless Summer Hydrangeas…..perfect for Mother’s Day gift giving.  Hanging baskets of Proven Winners annuals and fragrant gardenias make great gift ideas too.  Stop in and see all the great gifts for gardeners items like flags from Evergreen, wind chimes from Woodstock, garden gnomes, Moon Rays light stakes, Magnet Works rugs and signs.  Our gift shop is brimming with all kinds of great gift ideas for Mom for outdoor cooking and entertaining including Tervis Tumblers and Wilton Armetale cookware.

Watson’s has an incredible selection of Knockout Roses, Orchids, and a great line of tropicals and citrus plants from top name growers like Monrovia and Hines Nurseries.  Add in a recycled plastic planter from Novelty and you have another great gift combo for your Mothers Day gift giving.  We can even plant it up for you!!!

For the birding lover and the hard core gardener in your life, check out a great selection of Felco Pruners, Radius ergonomic tools, and Bionic gloves.  We have the area’s best selection of Droll Yankee and Duncraft bird feeders and top-of-the line wild bird food from Lyric and Scotts Songbird Choice.

Lawn care is very important in May.  Time to get the next step of fertilizer and weed control down on the lawn.  We stock a complete line Greenview Fairway Formula fertilizers and seeds.  Missed the crabgrass per-emergence application in April?  No problem, Greenview has a product with slow release nitrogen and Dimension crabgrass preventer.  Dimension is superior to all other crabgrass preventers as it has a post-emergent capability, as well.  This means it kills crabgrass even if it has recently germinated.  We also stock Turf Trust for those dedicated fans.

Vegetable gardening time is May.  Time to get all your favorite vegetable plants in the ground.  We carry a huge selection of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash, and eggplant starter vegetable plants.  A great selection of Heirloom Tomatoes is always in stock too.  Don’t forget your Leaf-Gro, Shrimp Compost, lime, and cow manure as you prepare your vegetable garden for planting.  Hydrated lime is very important as it releases much needed calcium into the soil.  Calcium is vital to plant health and fertilizer uptake. Tomato cages, stakes, and a great selection of plant supports are in stock for when the plants mature with fruit.

May is also for grilling and outdoor cooking.  Watson’s is the area’s only Weber Alliance dealer.  That means we stock the entire line of Weber grills and accessories.  From the updated 2011 Genesis all the way up to the brand new Summit Grill Center, we have it all.  We assemble your purchase for you to make sure it works right before it leaves the store.  We also stock the entire line of Big Green Egg smokers and grills.  Propane refills are available 7 days a week – no waiting.  Sign up to receive our emails and we will send you a $5.00 off coupon for your next 20lb propane refill.

Well, we have just barely scratched the surface as far as what May means at Watson’s Garden Center.  Needless to say, you just have to make a trip in and see us soon.  With the cool, wet weather recently, there is still PLENTY OF TIME TO PLANT!!!   Check out the garden, take a few photos of plants in question, sign up for our emails, and just come on in soon.   Happy Spring!!

Easter is Sunday, April 24th.  We have all kinds of Easter and Spring oriented gifts all over the store.  Check out our great selection of gifts for gardeners and see so much new stuff like Yoga Frogs, Pet Memorials, Gnomes, and Garden Flags.  The Gift Shop is full of great gift ideas for Easter too.  Spring time outdoor entertaining is huge here at Watson’s.  Check out a great selection of outdoor grilling items, sauces and marinades, and tableware.  Finally, our Floral Shop (aka Creation Corner) is filled with great artificial wreathes and table top decorations.  Our floral staff will busy Easter week making up all kinds of great creations from the freshest cut flowers around.  Stop in and see the original fresh creations we are known for.

The flowering annuals have begun to arrive.  Hanging baskets and pre-planted pots for your porch or patio are in.  Impatiens, Wave Petunias, Geraniums, Begonias, Proven Winners, and much more is arriving daily.  Check out the great selection of planters to go with your flower purchase.  We have all kinds of glazed pottery from Vietnam, resin molded pots from Novelty, white cedar planters from Maine, and traditional concrete planter styles too.  We recommend our Gardener’s Gold or Espoma Organic potting mixes for your patio planters.  Vegetables and herbs have begun to arrive.  As the weather warms later in April, the vegetable plant selection begins to build every day.  Don’t forget to check out our great selection of tomatoes, peppers, and old-fasjioned heirloom varieties, as well.

Finally, grilling season has truly arrived.  The days are getting warmer.  Time to break out the grill and enjoy being outside once again.  The new Weber Genesis gas grills are here.  Check out the new Genesis 330 series with the extra Grill Zone burner for high-powered grilling and searing.  Weber moved the burner controls to the front of the grill for 2011.  We have a huge selection of Weber parts and accessories too.  Need a new hose, Flavorizer Bars, cooking grids, or thermometer?  We got ‘em.  We are the area’s only Weber Alliance Dealer.  That makes us tops in selection and service when it comes to your Weber grill.  The Big Green Egg is gaining every year in popularity.  Check out our Green Egg display.  Need charcoal or propane?  We have them and a great selection of smoker woods too.  Don’t forget to sign up for our emails and receive valuable offers regularly including $5.00 off coupons for propane refills.

So…..Happy Spring.  Stop in and see us soon on York Road off Beltway exit 26 North. 

PS: Got Stink Bugs?  Give us a call.  We have several solutions for battling these persistent foes.

March brings into focus yard clean up and lawn care activities.  Time to get out the rake and get all that mess cleaned up from another hard, windy winter.  Take a look around the yard and the garden.  Look for broken branches and other winter damage.  Prune up wounds and damage left by heavy snow and wind.  Also look for over-wintering disease and pests.  Scales of many types can be seen easily on the leafless branches of many trees and shrubs.  Remove the scales carefully and spray with dormant oil spray to kill these pests.  Fruit trees are ready to be sprayed soon with a dormant oil and lime-sulfur mixture.  If not pruned already, time to prune back rose bushes, fruit trees, and certain non-flowering trees and shrubs.  Give us a call or stop in with cuttings and samples from your plants in question.

Lawn care is another popular March gardening activity.  Time to look at fertilizing and treating weeds in the lawn.  If seeding, apply crabgrass control towards the end of April or first week of May.  We prefer Scotts and Greenview Fairway Formula lawn care products.  Dimension crabgrass control is our preferred way of controlling the emergence of crabgrass.  Dimension has excellent post-emergence control too.  If you didn’t feed last Fall, time to get an initial lawn feeding down soon.  Need lime?  Bring us a dry soil sample and we can give you a good idea of your lawn pH and if lime is needed.  Chances are if you haven’t limed in more than two years, you will need some lime.  If you are a Turf Trust fan, we stock that too.

And yes, GRILLING time is here.  While some people put the grill away for the winter, many use their bar-b-que year round.  We are a full 365 day a year grill destination.  We are the area’s only Weber Alliance Dealer and we stock everything Weber makes.  From the Q and One-Touch all the way up to the newly redesigned Genesis Gas Grills and the ultimate Summit S-670.  Check out the new line for 2011 soon.  Assembly is always included with your grill purchase at Watson’s.  The Big Green Egg continues to grow in popularity.  We stock a full selection of Big Green Eggs and accessories.  Propane refills available 7 days a week – no waiting.  Don’t forget to sign up for our email blasts and receive valuable coupons for merchandise and propane refills.  Happy Spring!