Maricopa Native Seed Library: About

• The seed library is seeking feedback about your experiences with our seeds. If you've obtained seeds from us please consider taking this short survey so we can learn if seeds are successfully germinating. Respondents (who provide their email address) will be entered into a quarterly drawing to win specialty seeds (seeds not currently offered in the seed library)
• The seed library was included in the Best of the Valley 2023.
•  Learn more about native seed germination by listening to an interview with the seed library's founder, Danielle Carlock
• Want to learn more about the Maricopa Pollinator Pathway? A recorded presentation is available.
• Check out our YouTube channel for free workshops on native plant gardening in the Sonoran Desert
• An article about the seed library has been published in the Plant Press, a publication of the Arizona Native Plant Society
• See media coverage of the Maricopa Native Seed Library: TV 15, KJZZ's The Show, the Phoenix New Times. Wondering about the mustard plant prominently featured in the article? See this follow up for more information. 

The purpose of the Maricopa Native Seed library is to provide free, native seed to the community, as well as education and information to make it easy to incorporate these plants into your yards, patios and balconies. Anyone can include some native plants into their residences, whether you have a lot of space or a small apartment.

The benefits of gardening are numerous and well documented, both for people and for wildlife! Everyone can participate in conserving native plants and the pollinators and other wildlife that depend on them, even with a small amount of native plants. The Maricopa Native Seed Library invites you to join with us in creating a living landscape at home. You can also certify your habitat with our free Maricopa Pollinator Pathway certification.

Want to learn more about the seed library's origins and how seed is collected? Watch this interview with the seed library's founder, Danielle Carlock.

Sign up for our email list to receive updates

The Maricopa Native Seed Library is a service of the Maricopa Community Colleges and has several locations (see below).  Anyone can visit the library and obtain seeds, no library card needed. To learn more about the seeds we offer, see our plant profiles and lists. Note that at all locations only 3 seed packets can be taken per month. See our FAQ for more information about the seed library.

Obtaining seeds:

Please check each location's website for operating hours and directions before your visit:

1. Phoenix College Library 

2. Gateway Community College Library 

3. Scottsdale Community College-seed library currently in transition. More information forthcoming!

4. Glendale Community College Library

5. Rio Salado College Library

6. South Mountain Community Library

Unlike many seed libraries, we do not purchase any of our seeds from seed companies. The seeds in the seed library come from the following sources:

1. Tonto National Forest-the majority of our seeds are wild collected under permit from Tonto National Forest at great time and effort, including sites in the Superstitions, Mazatzals, and Cave Creek/Seven Springs areas.

2. Scottsdale Community College-some seeds have been collected at the SCC campus, including and especially those for which large populations on the Tonto have not been located. Seeds are often collected in collaboration with the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife which helps coordinate student volunteers to help collect seed.

3. Home garden-some seeds have been collected from the home garden of the seed library's founder.  

4. Tempe Papago Preserve-the City of Tempe has issued a permit for the seed library

5. Donations-we have also received some donations from local gardeners. Interested in donating? Contact us!

Maricopa Community Colleges acknowledge the land our colleges are situated on today as the traditional land and home of the O'odham, Piipaash, Yavapai, and Yaqui peoples. There are 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona and 574 across the United States. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we gather. Without them, we would not have access to our education or the land we live, work, learn and commune on. We take this opportunity to thank the original caretakers of this land. We offer our respect to their Elders and to all Indigenous people of the past, present and future.  

For more information please contact us at seedlibrary@scottsdalecc.edu