Residential Design Guidelines

The Residential Design Guidelines is the latest document created by ARC (Architectural Review Committee) that describes any changes that can be made to the outside of your home in The Grand. It includes Appendices A to H.

Residential Design Guidelines 2024

Demonstration Gardens

The Garden club has several Demonstration gardens located along the trails in Grand. There are 2 on the Sonoran Trail, 2 on the Capitan Trail and one on the Desert Sage II Trail. These Demonstration Gardens were designed by members of the Garden Club during the winter and spring of 2024. The Demonstration Gardens are designed to be a model of colorful plant choices that are low water usage and heat tolerant for homeowners to view and select for their landscapes. The plants were placed so that they can grow to their mature size with minimum pruning. The Desert Sage II plants are labeled, the other Demonstration areas will have QR Code signs that homeowners can select to view images of the Plant Palette used at each garden.   

A Grand Opening event was held at the Desert Sage II trail in May of 2024, where there was a ribbon cutting with the Grand Board of Directors and members of the Landscape Team. Here are pictures of the Grand Opening/Team at Work.

The Sonoran Trail areas were designed by Carol Tripp, Chris Bertrand, Karen Rowland and Linda Golden. The Capitan trail was designed by Darryl Meltzer. The Desert Sage II trail was designed by Darryl Meltzer, Elli Hall, Phyllis Sicora and Jan Vanderford.

Demonstration Garden Links

Sonoran Trail Map

Capitan Trail Map

Desert Sage Trail Map

Desert Sage Plant Palette

AMWUA is the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, a non-profit association of ten municipalities in the Phoenix metro area, advocating responsible water stewardship that supports economic prosperity and safeguards Arizona's water supplies for future generations. They publish several booklets which are very helpful in designing and maintaining your landscape:

Plants for the Arizona Desert (Pink Book)

Xeriscape: Landscaping in Style in the Arizona Desert

Landscape Watering by the Numbers

Minimize the Impact of Extreme Weather on your Landscape

click on the nursery logos to access each website.

SummerWinds Nursery

6426 W. Bell Road, Glendale, AZ 85308

(623) 979-5296

Garden Club members receive a 15% discount on purchases 

(Say you are a member of "Sun City Grand Garden Club")

See info sheet:  Summerwinds Discount

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Elgin Nursery and Tree Farm

8606 W. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85037

(623) 936-1100

Garden Club members receive a 10% discount on purchases

See info sheet: Elgin Discount

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Jackrabbit Nursery

4421 S. Jackrabbit Trail, Buckeye, AZ 85326

(623) 386-4700

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North Scottsdale Nursery & Cactus

25601 N Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85255

(480) 585-0754

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33840 N. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, Arizona 85331

(480) 488-9455

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Old West Cactus Farm

43608 N Black Canyon Hwy, Phoenix, Arizona 85087

(623) 465-9560

Open: Monday-Sunday (see website for seasonal hours)

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Phoenix Desert Nursery

3525 E Southern Ave, Phoenix, Arizona 85040

(602) 574-1926

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The Arizona Native Plant Society

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Sun City West Desert Garden Club Plant Sales

SCW Beardsley Recreation Center

12755 W Beardsley Rd, Sun City West, AZ

(623) 544-6527

See info sheet: Details

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Arizona Cactus Growers

14642 Perryville Rd, Surprise, AZ, United States, Arizona

(623) 229-7700

Open Saturday and Sunday from 9-2:00

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Galleries Guadalara

12739 W Grand Ave, Surprise, AZ 85374-7042 

(623) 640-5967

Open: 7 AM - 2 PM

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Black Mountain Nursery

4840 E Dynamite Blvd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331

(480) 585-3740

Open: 8 AM - 5 PM Monday-Saturday (Sunday by Appointment)

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Desert Forest Nursery - Wholesale/Open to the Public

16835 W Olive Ave, Waddell, AZ 85355

(623) 935-1859

Open: Monday-Saturday (Call for hours)

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Marbil Nursery - Wholesale/Open to the Public

15995 W Northern Ave, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340

(623) 535-0017

Call for Appointment

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The City of Surprise offers a variety of helpful resources for Arizona residents:

Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

Water Conservation Links

Water Saving Plant Guide

Landscape Watering Guidelines

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension researches gardening, horticulture, and agricultural issues important to Arizona. They offer an enormous library of free articles focused on helping residents with their yards and gardens. Written by experts, and peer viewed, the articles make scientifically-sound information more widely available. 

The library website with the most popular and useful publications is: The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Educational Materials

Additional articles are available at an archive repository site: The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Publications  

On either site, you can search by publication title, author, topic, or publication number (use the format az####).