"Our seed library started four years ago and has led us to this reading garden," Apache Junction Public Library Director Pam Harrison said in the city's announcement of the garden's ribbon-cutting.
Her quote explains what the Superstition Reading Garden at 1177 N. Idaho Road is for. The garden covers 20,000 square feet behind the library. It has a greenhouse, six raised beds, shaded tables, a 50-seat amphitheater and a storage shed, all facing the Superstition Mountains. It opened to the public on Monday, July 6, when hardly anyone wanted to sit outside. Its real program calendar runs in late October and November.
A Cabinet in the Mountain View Room
The city announced the seed library in August 2021. Free seeds went to Apache Junction residents with a library card. Eagle Scout Lloyd Stenglein, a local resident, raised the money and supplies, furnished the cabinet and provided the first batch of seeds. The library still credits him on its seed library page.
The cabinet is still in the Mountain View Room. You can check out four seed packets per library card per month, and the library also offers guides on planting, growing and harvesting. The library's list of commonly available seeds leans heavily toward leafy greens and root vegetables: beets, cabbage, carrots, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and Swiss chard. It also includes dried beans, peas, onion, oregano, parsley, eggplant, squash, sunflowers, mixed cosmos and a pollinator mix. Availability varies.
Four organizations are credited as sponsors of the seed library:
For its first few years, the seed library ended at the front door. Residents took seeds home and planted them on their own. Teaching required somewhere to plant, a place to raise seedlings and a place to gather people. The garden behind the building provides all three.
Opened in July, Programmed for Fall
The library's garden page went up in summer with a plain instruction in its title: stay tuned for gardening and outdoor events in September. The page lists five planned uses:
- Outdoor storytimes and early literacy programs, including readings and performances in the amphitheater
- Gardening, sustainability and hands-on workshops and classes
- Performances, presentations and special events
- Quiet areas for reading and reflection
- Community events and gatherings
According to the same page, the garden uses native and drought-tolerant plants. The library describes it as a working example of landscaping and practices that suit the local climate. The project was paid for through the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with funds appropriated by the Arizona State Legislature.
The formal ribbon-cutting is set for late October, more than three months after the garden opened. The city's event calendar and the Apache Junction / Gold Canyon Independent list it for Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 6 p.m., with rock painting, giveaways and family activities after the ceremony. The Pinal County Library District calendar lists the same celebration for Thursday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m., so confirm the date with the library before you go.
The Greenhouse Connects the Cabinet to the Beds
The garden's first big hands-on program shows how the pieces fit together. "Seed Starting & Repotting Plants!" is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the garden amphitheater. It is free, open to ages 12 to 100, and requires no booking. The listing on the Pinal County Library District calendar describes the plan: plant seeds by hand, then move the young plants into larger pots to "spend a few weeks in the greenhouse before garden planting."
That sequence is the whole idea behind the garden. Seeds come from the type of collection housed in the Mountain View Room. They sprout in the greenhouse and then move to the six raised beds. If the timing in the listing holds, plants started at the end of October would go into the beds in November, when the amphitheater calendar is busiest.
The seed library also has its own recurring meeting. The "Seed up Meet Up" is listed at the library for Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 9, both at 4 p.m., for ages 12 and up.
November on the Amphitheater
Here are the November and December programs currently listed for the garden and the library. The detailed listings for the amphitheater programs mark them as free.
| Date | Program | Time | Ages | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 2 | Up Down All Around the Garden | 4 to 4:30 p.m. | 5 to 8 | Garden amphitheater |
| Tue., Nov. 3 | Journaling for Teens in the Garden | 3:30 to 4 p.m. | 13 to 18 | Garden amphitheater |
| Wed., Nov. 4 | Monarchs & Milkweed | See listing | See listing | Apache Junction Public Library |
| Tue., Nov. 10 | Seed up Meet Up | 4 p.m. | 12+ | Apache Junction Public Library |
| Wed., Nov. 18 | Biblio Bites Demo: Cooking with Fresh Herbs | 3 to 4 p.m. | See listing | Garden amphitheater |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | Seed up Meet Up | 4 p.m. | 12+ | Apache Junction Public Library |
The children's program on Nov. 2 combines a story with movement and activities. The herb-cooking demo on Nov. 18 is made possible by the Friends of the Library of Apache Junction. Parsley and oregano both appear on the seed library's list, so the cooking demo draws on the same plants the cabinet hands out.
The library building is busy outside the garden too. The city has scheduled a series of water-resources workshops at the library on Tuesdays in November. Apache Junction Sewer District General Manager Darron Anglin speaks Nov. 3, and Roosevelt Water Conservation District General Manager Russell Rea speaks Nov. 10. The city's news page has details. For a garden designed to show how to grow plants in the desert, these talks are a natural companion.
Fitting the Garden Into an Ordinary Week
Most of these programs last 30 to 60 minutes and start between 3:30 and 4 p.m. They fit into an after-school pickup or the end of a workday more easily than a weekend festival does. The Oct. 28 listing gives the library's contact number as 480-474-8555 and says no reservations are needed.
The garden was also designed with quiet areas for reading and reflection and shaded tables that look out on the Superstitions. The library's summer garden page also told residents to "be on the lookout for volunteer opportunities soon." The six raised beds will need regular care through the cool months, so anyone who wants to help should check ajpl.org and the district calendar for volunteer openings.
Schedules can change, and library listings are updated more often than printed flyers. The Pinal County Library District calendar has the most current dates and ages for each program.
If you'd like to talk about Apache Junction and the everyday places that make it home, from the seed cabinet to the amphitheater, the team at RETSY would be glad to hear from you. Contact Us.
