Phoenix

Chapter Meetings & Events

The Phoenix chapter has a monthly virtual meeting on the first Monday of each month at 6:00 PM, we also host events periodically throughout the year. Register for the monthly meeting and add it to your calendar using this link! Our events are announced at least 2 weeks in advance to our email list subscribers, and events will always be listed on the Events Page including how to join them. Our activities are open to chapter members as well as the general public (unless stated otherwise). Please join our general email list to receive notifications about locally hosted events. If you are interested in volunteering at an event, please join our volunteer email list by filling out this form.

View our public calendar here or visit the AZNPS Events Calendar to learn about upcoming events hosted by all Chapters throughout the state. Recordings of many presentations are available to watch on the AZNPS YouTube page.

Current and Ongoing Projects

We have partnered with several other plant and conservation focused groups in the area, and are working on some exciting projects! If you are interested in any of the listed projects, either as a volunteer or just want to get updates on the progress, please reach out to phoenixaznps@gmail.com for more information. Alternatively, you can join our general email list or join our volunteer email list.

Maricopa Native Seed Library: Collecting native seeds, building seed packets and distributing native seed packets via the native seed library. We have taken over restocking responsibilities for the South Mountain Community Library while it’s founder Danielle Carlock is out of the country on a Fulbright scholarship. We meet every Wednesday at 12PM to restock.
Center for Native and Urban Wildlife: Developing a grow from home program where volunteers can grow native plants to be used for restoration projects in central Arizona.
Desert Botanical Garden and the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance: Building a flora of Papago Park as part of The Plant Atlas Project of Arizona. The Desert Botanical Garden will host courses to train interested parties in November. Registration is now open!
iNaturalist: We have an ongoing iNaturalist project to map plants on Shadow Mountain. This is used as a training ground to learn how to make research grade observations in iNaturalist and how to identify plants in the field. If you are interested in starting a project for a different park or preserve in the Phoenix metro area, please reach out to phoenixaznps@gmail.com

Seeking native plants to use in landscaping?

Maricopa Pollinator Pathway Poster for Certified Gardens View our Chapter’s Plant List for Metro Phoenix to learn which plants are local to our area. It highlights plants that are: native to the Phoenix metro area, beneficial to wildlife, low-water-use, relatively easy to care for, and generally available at local nurseries or seed suppliers. You can also see the Central Arizona Urban Desert Landscape Guide by CAZCA for more information on growing native plants in central Arizona. The AZNPS Grow Native resources provide additional information about landscaping with native plants, including planning your garden and pamphlets available to download.

We’ve compiled a list of metro Phoenix nurseries that generally offer a selection of native plants. Some have more variety than others, and inventory changes frequently or may be seasonal. It is best to inquire with a few nurseries by phone or email to determine which one suits your needs.

If you are interested in building a pollinator garden, consider becoming a certified Pollinator Pathway garden! The city of Phoenix also has an initiative for those who are removing grass lawns.

2026 Seasonal Plant Sales

Several local organizations hold desert plant sale fundraisers in the Spring and Fall. We’ll update this announcement if/when additional native plant sales are scheduled in the metro Phoenix area.

Desert Botanical Garden – Spring Plant Sale: October 22 (members) & October 23 – 26 (general public)

Boyce Thompson Arboretum – Spring Plant Sale: October 16 (members) & October 17 – November 1

Center for Native and Urban Wildlife – Spring Plant Sale: October 22 – 23

Butterfly Wonderland: 2026 plant sale has passed

Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society Show and Sale: 2026 Show and sale has passed

Native Plant & Wildflower Seeds

Monsoon season and fall are terrific times to add wildflower seeds to your landscape, assuming it rains! For a wide variety of Arizona native plant seeds, we recommend the following sources:

Maricopa Native Seed Library – The public may obtain up to 3 free seed packets per month. Available at several Maricopa Community Colleges libraries.

Native Seeds / Search – Focus on desert-adapted heirloom varieties of edible vegetables as well as some native plants.

Free Tree Programs – SRP offers 2 free trees to home owners using SRP, they have native tree options (must sign up to seminar which is offered twice a year). APS and the city of Phoenix have grants to offer HOAs / communities free trees.

Desert Botanical Garden – Purchase seeds online or in person at their Garden Shop.

Borderlands Restoration Network – Purchase seeds online or visit their nursery in Patagonia.

Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society Seed Depot – The Propagation Education Group (PEG) sells seeds for $1.00 per packet at each of its meetings.

Cactus and Succulent Society of America Seed Depot – Highly specific and well documented collections. Members only benefit.

List of Maricopa Seed Libraries – A resource listing where to find free seeds in Maricopa County and the Phoenix Metro Area. Many are hosted in local libraries and mostly offer vegetable and fruit seeds, though sometimes offer native plant seeds as well. Find the seed library closest to you! Many contain additional information on growing plants and links to local community gardens.

– Avondale Seed Library	– Apache Junction Seed Library	– ASU Seed Library
– Chandler Seed Library	– Glendale Seed Library	– Maricopa County Seed Library
– Mesa Seed Library	– Peoria Seed Library	– Phoenix Seed Library
– Scottsdale Seed Library	– Tempe Seed Library

If you feel there’s a local nursery, native plant fundraiser, or seed supplier we should add to our list, please let us know!

Local nature walks and educational events

Many local organizations host free or low-cost seasonal nature walks, interpretive hikes, gardening classes, and educational activities with a focus on native plants & habitats. Learn more by clicking on the links below.

– McDowell Sonoran Conservancy	– Maricopa County Parks & Recreation
– Desert Foothills Land Trust	– Lost Dutchman State Park
– Skyline Regional Park	– Sierra Club – Outings
– Phoenix Parks & Recreation	– Boyce Thompson Arboretum
– Liberty Wildlife – Free nature walks	– Center for Native & Urban Wildlife
– Water Use it Wisely	– Desert Botanical Garden
– Desert Institute of Gardening	– Maricopa Native Seed Library
– Be Outdoors Arizona

Join our virtual community!

To stay up to date on our meetings and other activities, please join our email list or sign up for our volunteer email list to hear about volunteer opportunities. Follow the AZNPS Phoenix Chapter’s Facebook page for more information about local native plants news, research, and events! We also invite you to follow our Chapter on Instagram and use the hashtag #aznativeplants to help us raise awareness of Arizona’s amazing native plants!

If you want to be more involved in the community and event planning, we invite you to join our discord!

Chapter Leadership

Name	Role	Contact
Daniela Howe	President	phoenixaznps@gmail.com
Peter Pawliuk	Vice President	phoenixaznps@gmail.com
Kathleen McCoy	Secretary	phoenixaznps@gmail.com
Kevin Brown	Treasurer	phoenixaznps@gmail.com
Carly Mendoza	Social Media	phoenixaznps@gmail.com

Volunteering Opportunities

Want to get involved? We've got just the thing!

Conservation Volunteer Opportunities

If you are interested in volunteer activities related to restoration, invasive species control, gardening, conservation, or scientific research, we recommend contacting the following organizations.

Citizen Science Opportunities

These are citizen science and community science projects you can participate in on your own at home, during a walk in your neighborhood, or while visiting Arizona’s public lands.

iNaturalist

Contribute photos and information about your wildlife sightings to have them identified by other iNaturalist users. “Research grade” observations also contribute to scientific research.

Saguaro Census

Help the Desert Botanical Garden document saguaro cactus in the urban areas of metro Phoenix and take notes on their overall health. You may also submit reports of dead saguaros.

Desert Refuge – Monarchs and Milkweeds in Arizona

Document the presence of monarchs and the seasonal changes of milkweed at a location of your choosing.

Nature’s Notebook

Document the seasonal changes in plants or animals near your home by becoming a USA – National Phenology Network observer.

Budburst

Observe plants as part of this national program to help scientist understand how plants are responding to long-term changes in climate. Or, join their Milkweeds and Monarchs project which is studying whether monarch butterflies prefer to lay eggs on non-flowering milkweed plants.

Libraries as Hubs for Citizen Science

Visit a participating library that loans out citizen science tools and supplies.

Buffelgrass Green-up

Contribute invasive buffelgrass observations to the USA – National Phenology Network’s Buffelgrass Green-Up phenophase map.

Southwest Monarch Study

Monarchs need milkweed and nectar plants, so hopefully you have these growing in your yard or neighborhood! Join this monarch “tagging” project to help document Western monarch migration.

Desert Defenders

A special initiative in metro Phoenix to identify and map invasive plants. There is also a special project dedicated to locating stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum/pilulifer).

Wild Spotter

While visiting National Forests and other wild lands, keep an eye out for invasive plants.

Tamarisk Beetle Monitoring

Help RiversEdge West track the spread of tamarisk beetles (Diorhabda spp.) across the western United States and Mexico. Data is used for an annual distribution map that notes presence and absence of tamarisk beetles.

Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper

If you see milkweed plants or monarch butterflies, eggs, or caterpillars while outdoors, take a photo and submit your sighting to this regional project.

GLOBE Observer

Participate in their Land Cover project to help scientists create better maps. Or, join the Trees project by taking height and circumference measurements.

eBird

Native plants attract a variety of birds. Report the type of birds you see in your yard, neighborhood, or local park.

Bumble Bee Watch

Native flowering plants are essential for bumble bees. Help scientists track their populations by submitting photos of the ones you see.

Rainlog.org

If you have a rain gauge at home (or decide to purchase one), join this Arizona rainfall monitoring network to submit your daily rainfall totals.

Zooniverse

Select from a variety of online projects to contribute to real academic research from your own computer.

DigiVol

Access digitized natural history data online to help transcribe and decipher field notebooks, photographs, museum labels, and data sheets from around the world.

Chapter News

Fall for Wildflower Seeds!

Posted on Nov 15, 2020

Fall is the perfect time to plant spring wildflower seeds. The cooler temperatures and seasonal rains (or supplemental watering) provide these seeds with the conditions they need to germinate in time for a beautiful and colorful spring display!

In fact, some landscaping plants (such as annuals, biennials, and perennials) may only be available as seeds. While this requires patience to wait for things to grow, it is an easy and affordable way to add a variety of native plants to your yard.

See the recommended Arizona seed suppliers listed below for options to purchase native seeds by mail or receive wildflower seeds for free.

Maricopa Native Seed Library – The public may obtain up to 3 seed packets per month. Available at several Maricopa Community Colleges libraries.

Glendale Public Library: Seed Library – Library card holders may obtain up to 3 free seed packets every 7 days. Mostly garden seeds, but some wildflower seeds are available.

Desert Botanical Garden – Purchase seeds online or in person at their Garden Shop.

Greenway Drive Library – A Phoenix Chapter member offers free native plants and wildflower seeds as part of a Little Free Library in front of their home in Tempe.

Native Seeds/SEARCH – Purchase seeds online from their conservation farm in southern Arizona.

Borderlands Restoration Network – Purchase seeds online or visit their nursery in Patagonia.

If you feel there’s a local seed supplier we should add to our list, please let us know!

Last updated: 10/1/2023

Seed Ball Project – Fall Update

Posted on Nov 01, 2020

In June 2020, the Phoenix chapter began a pilot project in collaboration with the Maricopa Native Seed Library to study the success of using seeds balls as a method to add native plants to home landscapes. Seed balls are widely used, but there are few published studies about them. So we’ve teamed up to study their germination success in various residential locations throughout the Valley.

The seed balls contain a mix of 13 native species. Thirty participants “planted” two seeds balls at their home in July 2020. Since then, we are following up with them monthly to monitor any germination that appears to be the result of the seed balls. The poor monsoon season this year got the project off to a slow start, as the seed balls require several heavy rainfalls (or regular supplemental watering) to fully disintegrate into the soil.

As of October 2020, three participants have observed seedlings in the area where they planted their seed balls. We will continue to check in with participants over the coming months to track germination success. Hopefully we’ll have some good fall and winter rainstorms to help the seeds germinate in time for spring!

A sideoats gramma (Bouteloua curtipendula) grass seedling spouting from a partially disintegrated seed ball. The seed balls were handmade by the Maricopa Native Seed Library for this collaborative project. Photo credit: Laurie Nessel

For more information about the seed ball project, please contact Danielle Carlock at seedlibrary@scottsdalecc.edu.

You can be a “neighborhood naturalist”

Posted on Sep 17, 2020

In August we hosted a virtual Metro Phoenix EcoFlora workshop presented by Jeny Davis, EcoFlora Coordinator and AZNPS Phoenix Chapter member.

A recording of the webinar is available on YouTube. We invite you to watch and learn how to become a “neighborhood naturalist”!

Gallery

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