Community Garden Sun City AZ: Plots and Garden Clubs

The main community garden in Sun City AZ is run by the Sun City Garden Club on an EPCOR well site off Greenway Road, with raised planters built from concrete grave liners. Sun City West has its own Agriculture Club garden plots, and Sun City Grand has the Grand Garden Club. Each runs on its own rules.

Sun City: the Garden Club's community garden

In Sun City, the community garden belongs to the Sun City Garden Club. KJZZ reported in 2016 that EPCOR, the water company that owns a former well site off Greenway Road, lets the club use the roughly 1.5-acre property, which sits behind a brick wall. In 2023 the Sun City Independent covered the garden's 10th anniversary of that EPCOR arrangement and placed the garden at 91st Avenue and Greenway, with a pollinator garden on site.

What makes this garden different is the planters. KJZZ described many plots as above-ground beds made from concrete grave liners, about 3 by 7 feet, donated by a Valley precast company that had liners cracked during manufacturing. The raised height is easier on knees and backs than a ground-level row. Members rent plots to help cover irrigation, and a volunteer plot grows produce for senior centers and food banks.

The Recreation Centers of Sun City lists the Garden Club among its chartered clubs. Plot availability, membership steps and current rules change, so ask the club directly before you plan a planting season around a specific bed. My guide to Sun City clubs and activities covers the wider club scene.

Sun City West: Agriculture Club plots and the Desert Garden Club

Agriculture Club

The Sun City West Agriculture Club is the vegetable gardening club, and its bylaws say it runs the garden plots area. A 2019 Sun City West Independent story put the garden at 17800 N. 137th Drive on 6.7 acres, with 260 plots worked by 325 members and something in season year round, from cabbage and broccoli in the cool months to sweet potatoes and luffa. Members collect produce for the local food bank twice a month, according to that report.

Eligibility is tied to the recreation system. The club's bylaws, updated June 2023, open membership to people in good standing with the Recreation Centers holding a current Owner-Member, Associate Member or Tenant Activity card. The club's site says taking over an available plot includes a cost that reimburses the previous gardener for improvements such as irrigation or fencing. Plot Monitors make sure gardeners follow the club rules, and guests need a member host.

Desert Garden Club

If you would rather grow cactus and desert plants than tomatoes, the Sun City West Desert Garden Club runs a greenhouse in the courtyard behind the meeting rooms at Beardsley Recreation Center, at 128th Avenue and Beardsley Road. Volunteers work there on weekdays, the club keeps a labeled Botanical Garden, and the public is welcome to visit. The club lists plant sales from October to May on the first Saturday of the month and on Thursdays, with plant sale profits going to local charities. Its site says people interested in joining can attend meetings and greenhouse activities as a guest before signing up. See my Sun City West relocation guide for more on the community.

Sun City Grand: the Grand Garden Club

In Sun City Grand in Surprise, the Grand Garden Club meets at 8:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month, October through May. Its focus is Low Sonoran Desert gardening: plants, water and irrigation, pruning, soil and plant disease, with plant sharing at meetings. Members maintain the Butterfly Garden on the north end of the Palm Center patio and helped design the Desert Sage II Trail Demonstration Garden, which includes a pollinator garden.

The club's site does not describe rentable vegetable plots, so if a shared plot is a must-have, ask the club and the association before you assume one is available. Most Grand gardeners grow at home, which makes the lot and the CC&R landscape rules more important. My Sun City Grand homes page has more on the community.

Garden clubs in nearby 55+ communities

Outside the three Sun Cities, two age-restricted (55+) communities have established garden clubs:

• PebbleCreek, Goodyear: The PebbleCreek Post reported in 2023 that the Garden Club of PebbleCreek, founded in fall 2021, meets the second Tuesday of the month, October through April, at Eagle's Nest Clubhouse, with workshops, speakers, field trips and plant sales. See PebbleCreek homes for sale.
• Sun Lakes, East Valley: National Garden Clubs lists the Weeders Garden Club, organized in 1955 and based at Sun Lakes Country Club, with monthly speakers and field trips around the Valley. See Sun Lakes 55+ homes.

Other East Valley communities may have their own groups. I could not confirm them on official sites, so check each community's club directory. Age rules for every community above are set in its CC&Rs.

Desert gardening basics from University of Arizona Extension

Gardeners arriving from colder states usually have the calendar backwards. In the low desert the main vegetable season runs through fall and winter. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County (publication az1005) lists these windows, among many others:

• Lettuce and broccoli: transplant or seed from mid-September through mid-December, with another window in early January.
• Carrots: seed from early August through mid-December, and from early January through mid-April.
• Tomatoes: transplant from mid-February through mid-March, with a second window in mid-July and early August.

When something goes wrong, the Maricopa County Master Gardeners run a Plant Help Desk. You can submit a question online, email MCCE-MGPlantHelpDesk@arizona.edu, or leave a voicemail at 602-827-8201. Extension asks for photos: close-ups of the leaves or damage plus a wide shot of where the plant sits. Gardening in summer means working early in the day, so read my heat safety tips too.

Buying a home for a gardener

What I tell clients: decide first whether you want a shared plot or a garden at home, because that choice points to different houses. If the plot is the goal, pick the Sun City and its club first, then look at homes in that recreation system. If you want to grow at home, read the CC&Rs and association landscape rules for containers, raised beds and shade structures before you write an offer.

Who this fits, by home features: a single-level home with garage or patio space for tools, and a yard with sun exposure that suits containers. Who it does not fit: a buyer who wants a large private irrigated orchard and will not accept association landscape rules. If a snowbird schedule means leaving a garden in summer, my closing up for summer checklist helps.

See 55+ homes for sale

Questions people ask

Is there a community garden in Sun City AZ?

Yes. The Sun City Garden Club runs a community garden at 91st Avenue and Greenway on land leased from EPCOR, with raised planters made from concrete grave liners. Ask the club about current plot availability.

Who can get a garden plot in Sun City West?

The Agriculture Club's bylaws open membership to people in good standing with the Recreation Centers of Sun City West who hold a current Owner-Member, Associate Member or Tenant Activity card. Contact the club for plot openings.

Does Sun City Grand have a garden club?

Yes. The Grand Garden Club meets the third Thursday of each month, October through May, and maintains the Butterfly Garden at Palm Center.

When do you plant vegetables in the Phoenix area?

Mostly in fall and winter. University of Arizona Extension's Maricopa County calendar lists lettuce and broccoli from mid-September through mid-December and tomato transplants from mid-February through mid-March.

I am Terry Day, REALTOR® with DeLex Realty. If a garden plot or a sunny backyard is on your list, call me with the Sun City you are leaning toward and I will focus the search there. For more ideas, start at my Arizona 55+ living hub.

Call Terry: 602-483-4665