Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery plants new location in Federal Way

The newest location offers indoor and outdoor plants, gifts, gardening accessories and more.

By Olivia Sullivan • March 22, 2021 1:30 am

Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery has planted new roots near Federal Way.

The family-owned plants and gardening business hosted a grand opening of their second and newest location (3909 S. 320th St. in Auburn) on March 18.

Though smaller than the roughly 8.5-acre Puyallup flagship, the new location offers a more boutique feel because of its size and inventory of gift items, yet still holds steady to the company’s gardening roots, said owner Maidee Watson.

“We built our company on plants … and you feel that here, even though we have a broad offering of products, it’s great to know that we’re still sticking to our roots, and plants come in number one,” Watson said at the grand opening with a Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony.

Watson’s Federal Way includes a potting station for customers, and offers both indoor and outdoor garden plants, pots, gardening accessories and more.

The business started as a family affair in 1974. The owners closed their Puyallup store one year ago on March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developing the second location from an idea to reality took about four months, and about halfway into the process, doubts began to seep in, said Addison Gregory, chief operating officer of Watson’s.

However, Gregory said, “we’re here today.”

“It’s really amazing that a year since then, we’re opening a new store,” he said. “It was a decision, something we had thought about for a few years, and we were sort of waiting for the right opportunity and the right time.”

Watson’s put in the work to help the new location grow from the ground up, from construction and product purchasing to hiring and training a team of 16 employees. The site was previously home to Branches Garden Center.

As a family, they feel fortunate to have made it through the pandemic and be able to build a brand new venture — all of which is made possible by the entire Watson’s staff, Watson said.

In picking their second plot, the business felt Federal Way is both near enough, and far enough, from their first location.

“It’s a community that’s growing and thriving, just like Puyallup and Tacoma, so we felt like we could bring something new to it,” Gregory said.

Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery near Federal Way (3909 S. 320th St. in Auburn) is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, visit shop.watsonsgreenhouse.com.