How Your Backyard Can Help Preserve Native Plants & Arizona Wildlife

native plants garden plot

Danielle Carlock Cowan, library faculty member and Maricopa Native Seed Library founder. 

Sitting Area

As concern grows around the rapidly-changing desert environment, Danielle Carlock Cowan and the Maricopa Native Seed Library show us how we can have a tangible impact by starting with our own backyard.

Tucked outside the South Mountain Community Library lies a small garden whose plants represent the beauty and diversity of the Southwest. Currently, the garden showcases several native plants: chocolate flower, a native wildflower with yellow daisy looking blooms that, in fact, smell like chocolate; Gregg’s mistflower with its soft, puffy, purple flower heads; rush milkweed, a crucial nectar source for adult monarch butterflies and vital host plant for their caterpillars; spreading fleabane, with its daisy-like white and yellow blooms; and tansy aster, a drought-tolerant plant with violet flowers. Behind the garden bed, a delicate snapdragon vine crawls up a rock wall. It’s here that you can first meet some of the unique Southwest desert flora that the native seed library is working to preserve and spread. 

As inviting and humble as the small plot itself is the person responsible for bringing it to the community – Danielle Carlock Cowan, library faculty member and Maricopa Native Seed Library founder.

When I ask Cowan for a picture of her in front of the Maricopa Native Seed Library, she says, “Oh, I don't want this to be about me.” Yet, it is her love of the Sonoran Desert that led her to envision and create a way for all of us to help preserve the regionally diverse, native plants of Arizona. After moving to the Southwest from New York in 1995, the wild and open landscapes of the Sonoran Desert captivated her. Now, she’s helping to ensure that beauty remains. 

Following Cowan’s example, a growing movement of backyard gardeners is learning how to conserve water and support Arizona wildlife and pollinators by planting native and desert-adapted plants in their yards. Choosing desert plants can reduce outdoor water use by 85%! It seems like a simple act, and yet, it has profound implications. 

Before her backyard transformation

After her backyard transformation: over 150 species of native plants!

Habitat at Home 

Cowan’s enthusiasm for promoting native plants and protecting wildlife began after seeing the transformation of her backyard. In 2011, she purchased a home with a bare dirt lot, and over the next 10 years, she created a thriving ecosystem with over 150 species of native plants. She stresses, though, that people do not need to commit to that level to support wildlife. It’s more about being intentional about what is planted in our backyards and aware of the impact that it can have.

“Anyone can do this. It doesn’t have to be at my scale. People can even start with potted plants on a patio,” says Cowan. “We all have a sphere of influence; what we grow at home really matters. Our wildlands are no longer large enough to support wildlife because they have been diminished through human development. What we grow in our own home landscapes, whatever that might be, really influences what can live around us.”

Cowan points out that she has no formal training in horticulture; her training has come from the plants. “My learning lab has been the plants in my garden and learning about their needs and their habits through being with them day-by-day and season-by-season,” says Cowan.

As Cowan started to notice just how many home landscapes don’t support wildlife or pollinators, or, as she refers to it, “dead landscape,” she came across a paradigm-changing book, Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy. 

The reality is that wildlife and pollinator populations are in rapid decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing due to climate change, fires, invasive species, and rapidly expanding urbanization. 

While this can seem overwhelming, Cowan realized there is something each of us can do: “What you have in your yard influences what lives around you. Homeowners can transform their yards into conservation corridors that provide homes for wildlife. You can even grow native plants in apartment balconies and pots. And because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is a grassroots approach to conservation.”

Cowan was inspired to create a native seed library to reach as many people as possible around the Valley to show the power and approachability of native planting.

Native Seed Library 

The Maricopa Native Seed Library 

Cowan explains a challenge that led her to create a resource that would offer seeds to the public: “When I was looking for native seeds and plants for my own yard, I couldn’t find many. The local nurseries didn’t have them, and they were nearly impossible to obtain, short of driving to Tucson, which can still be considered a mecca for native plants. So, the native seed library is a way to provide free access to seeds or plants that aren’t readily available.” 

The Maricopa Native Seed Library is a service of the Maricopa Community Colleges, with a mission to inspire and give people the tools to create habitat at home for native plants, wildlife and, particularly, pollinators. Started in August 2020 during a sabbatical project, Cowan has developed a robust library of native seeds. The criteria shes uses for selecting seeds include: 1) they are native supporters of wildlife, meaning they are nectar plants or larval host plants for pollinators (bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, flies, wasps, bats); 2) the seeds and plants are native to Maricopa County or bioregionally native (meaning from adjoining ecosystems); and 3) they are not commercially available. 

Cowan obtains many of the seeds by carefully and painstakinly collecting them in the Tonto National Park through a permit. She practices ethical seed harvesting based on a protocol from the Bureau of Land Management, which ensures that there is enough seed left behind for nature to replenish itself. Over 80% of the seeds housed at the seed library are native to Maricopa County. 

The Maricopa Native Seed Library has several areas of focus and services it offers:

Seed Distribution

Cowan has taken a “if you build it, they will come” approach to educating others about native landscaping, and it’s working. Since the Fall of 2020, when the native seed library began, she has given away over 25,000 seed packets.

Seed packets are free to Maricopa Community College students, faculty, and the general public. People are welcome to take up to three packets per month from the library to ensure that there’s enough for others.

To make germinating and planting native plants approachable and simple, Cowan created one of the most popular seed packets called the "No fuss" sow 'em mix". As the name suggests, you can simply throw seeds into a gravel yard, preferably during the fall, and forget about them. The packet includes 11 species that tend to germinate easily. Germination should occur on natural rainfall alone, but to get to the flowering stage they will likely need watering.

In addition to the no fuss seed mix, the native seed library offers more than 50 species of native plant seeds. Cowan emphasizes that some seeds may come up in a couple months or maybe never come up because it wasn’t the right spot, or the seeds might have been taken by birds or other seed predators. She encourages people to be patient, as the plants have evolved in this area and will come up when the right conditions are present. To help promote successful germination, the seed library provides people with simple “how to sow native seeds” instructions. 

The seed library encourages people who have taken seeds from the library to share their experiences in germinating and growing plants by completing a short “Seeds Experiences Survey.” Also, if people grow viable plants from the packages of seeds, the library appreciates it when people donate some of those plant seeds back to the library.

How to Sow Native Seeds (courtesy of the Maricopa Native Seed Library)

Native seeds have not been bred like food crops for quick germination. Therefore, it may take a bit more time for them to germinate (when the plant starts to grow from a seed into a seedling, like sprouting). Hang in there and follow the simple tips and instructions below on how to sow seeds. There are also often specific instructions on your seed packet to follow for best results.

Sowing seeds outside in the ground:

  1. Sow seeds (follow timing/season instructions on your packet if any) by pressing them lightly into soil and then covering them with a little bit of soil. Do not bury them. Water them right away.

  2. Keep the soil moist to increase germination.

Sowing seeds outdoors in pots:

  1. Sow seeds into the soil in pots (lightly press it into the soil, do not bury the seed).

  2. Keep the seeds moist and in a bright place.

Sowing seeds indoors:

  1. Wet the soil prior to sowing. It's best to use a soil starting mix.

  2. Press the seeds into the soil (do not bury).

  3. Scatter a little bit of soil on top of the seeds.

  4. Keep the seeds moist and in bright light. You can place a heat mat or plastic bag over the seeds to keep in moisture and speed-up germination.

On-site Demonstration Gardens

There are currently three on-site demonstration gardens located among the Maricopa County Colleges. The small garden plot at the South Mountain Community Library serves as one. At Scottsdale Community College there is a native pollinator garden to show people the different native plants to attract pollinators and provide larval host plants (places where pollinators lay their eggs), which is needed for reproduction. 

The Mesa Community College Red Mountain Campus houses a demonstration garden with 30 native plants. Many of those plants include ones used (and still used) by various Indigenous cultures. Plants include the sideoats grama, which served as food and fiber for the Apache, Kiowa, and Tewa people; wolfberry, a shrub producing tart little berries that was food to the Yuma, Akimel O'odham, Tohono O’odham and Piipaash people; and the hard-to-find Adonis blazing star, which provides food, medicinal, and ceremonial uses for the Keres and Navajo peoples.

Free Workshop

Cowan explains the significance of having onsite gardens: “People can come and see what the plants and their flowers look like and then have a better sense of what would work best for their needs and preferences. Then, they can make a more informed selection at the seed library. The onsite gardens can also be a seed source for the seed library inventory.” 

Free Educational Workshops 

Education is one of the key components to the success of the Maricopa Native Seed Library and movement of planting and caring for native plants. Cowan and the South Mountain Community Library offers free workshops to teach people how to select, germinate, plant, and care for the native plants and seeds found at the seed library. Cowan also sees education as a way to connect students to the seed library project. 

The next upcoming free workshop will be: “Attracting and Supporting Pollinators” on October 10, 2024, from 6:00-7:30pm at South Mountain Community Library. You can check for upcoming free workshops on the main library website. 

The Joy of Native Planting

One of the things Cowan is quick to point out about having a yard that is supportive of native plants is how enjoyable it is to look at and live with. 

“The plants in my yard are like friends of mine. I know them. I know when they seed and what they need. I know when they flower. This is spiritual to me.” She also adds: “There are also health benefits of having a native yard. When you’re out in the nature of your backyard, it’s good for lowering blood pressure and helping with mood. There’s so much life. And if you have children, they see all of that.”

Cowan sees native planting as a way to help maintain the diversity and beauty of the Sonoran Desert landscape. 

“Native gardening helps preserve a sense of place,” says Cowan. “Native gardens are beautiful, and there’s so much aesthetic value and beauty of the Sonoran Desert that you can support in your own backyard.”

Cowan is hoping to get as many people involved with native gardening as possible and have it be as accessible as possible. Her one ask of people is that when people take them from the library, they don’t let them sit in a drawer. 

“These seeds are precious to me. It takes a lot of hiking in the desert heat to hand harvest and collect them and a lot of people power to process and package all these seeds.  Plant them, or even give them away to someone else. Just don’t let them sit somewhere collecting dust. They are the heritage of the earth and are priceless."

The Maricopa Native Seed Library approach shows how people don’t have to be a large landowner to contribute to native gardening and its impact. 

“Everyone can be a part of this. If someone is concerned about doing something good for the environment, they can start in their own backyard,” encourages Cowan. “By planting now, you can help preserve Arizona’s precious wildlife, and the planet, for your children and future generations. And it’s joyful. ”

5 things you can do to introduce native & desert plants to your yard

  1. Transition from lawn-based yards to low-water desert landscape yards. Use these handy “Desert Landscapes in Your Front Yard” guides to find the size and style that best fits your needs. 

  2. Obtain free local, desert-adapted seeds from the seed libraries in Maricopa County and the Phoenix Metro.

  3. Start small - select 3 plants you want to grow in your yard or apartment patio. Use the “no fuss” seed mix from the Maricopa Native Seed Library for an even easier starting point.

  4. Focus on attracting pollinators by planting milkweed and attend the “Attracting and Supporting Pollinators” workshop on October 10, 2024, from 6:00 - 7:30pm. 

  5. Learn more about native plant gardening by attending workshops and educational opportunities near you

To Learn More & Get Involved:

Danielle Corral