In a city that knows how to grow in all directions, Dig It Gardens has spent the past decade growing something more personal. Tucked along 16th Street in Phoenix, the family-owned garden center has become more than a place to buy a cactus, pick out pottery, or ask why a houseplant suddenly looks offended. It has grown into a living, breathing destination where plants, local art, landscape design, workshops, private events, and community all share the same soil.
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Owned by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Jessica Jerrell, Dig It Gardens is located at 3015 N. 16th St. and offers unusual plants, pottery, hands-on workshops, private and corporate events, weddings, plant rentals, plant care support, and landscape design and installation through Dig It Design. But what has made Dig It a local favorite is harder to fit on a services list. It is the feeling of walking through the gate and realizing this is not a traditional nursery. It is a little wilder, a little warmer, and a lot more human.
“What makes Dig It different is that we’re building more than a nursery,” said Ryan Jerrell, co-owner of Dig It Gardens. “We’re building a community and a legacy. As a family-owned business, we want people to feel welcome, inspired, and connected through plants.”
Ryan founded Dig It in 2015 after beginning his plant career at Tip Top Nursery in Mesa, bringing his work full circle with a concept inspired by tattoo shops, local artists, music, and creative spaces as much as traditional nurseries. The idea was not simply to sell plants. It was to build a place with personality. “I wanted Dig It to be a place where plants, art, music, good conversations, and a little bit of weirdness could all live together,” he said.
That vision has since grown into a family business shaped by both Ryan and Jessica, who became partners in creating a destination that could serve the community while building something meaningful for their sons to one day carry forward.
“This place has become so much more than we ever imagined,” said Jessica Jerrell, co-owner of Dig It Gardens. “People come here to shop, but they also come here to celebrate, learn, bring their families, and feel connected. That’s what makes Dig It so special. It feels personal because the community has helped shape it with us.”
First-time visitors often arrive expecting a familiar garden center experience and instead find an ever-evolving desert hideaway. Ryan’s personal art collection is woven throughout the property, alongside artwork and creative contributions from employees and community members. Plants spill into vignettes, pottery becomes part of the landscape, and music moves through the space. Even the smallest corners feel considered, collected, and slightly unexpected.
“It feels less like a garden center and more like a place people want to explore,” said Alex Washburn, general manager and head horticulturist at Dig It Gardens. “People come in for help with a plant or a yard, but a lot of the time they end up staying longer than they planned.”
Together, Ryan and Washburn bring roughly 40 years of combined plant and horticultural experience to the business, helping guests navigate Arizona’s climate with practical advice and approachable education. The goal is to make plants feel less intimidating, especially in a desert city where sun, soil, shade, and timing can make all the difference.
“Plants should never add stress to your life,” Washburn said. “They’re supposed to bring joy. Our job is to take the mystery out of it, share what we’ve learned, and help people feel confident enough to make the magic happen.”
The Dig It experience includes:
- Plants and Pottery: A thoughtfully curated selection of cactus, succulents, indoor plants, trees, shrubs, edible plants, gardening supplies, and unique pottery.
- Dig It Design: Landscape design and installation services led by Ryan Jerrell, bringing decades of hands-on plant knowledge and design-build experience to outdoor spaces across the Valley, from small refreshes to full landscape transformations.
- Workshops and Private Events: Public classes, seasonal workshops, private plant workshops, weddings, receptions, showers, fundraisers, corporate gatherings, retreats, and brand experiences, all set inside a plant-filled environment that feels creative, relaxed, and personal.
- Plant Rentals and Styling: Plant rentals, styling, and creative support for weddings, photo shoots, events, activations, and special projects, helping bring the Dig It look and feel beyond the nursery gates.
- Plant Hotline: Care guidance and troubleshooting for the “What is happening to my cactus?” moments, giving customers a friendly place to turn when they need help keeping their plants healthy, happy, and thriving.
For the Jerrells, Dig It’s evolution has always been shaped by the people who walk through the gates. One of the clearest examples still hangs above the property today.
One of Dig It’s earliest customers, Andrea Hardy, once asked if she could get married there. Weddings were not part of the plan then, but the team said yes. Hardy later gifted Dig It a chandelier that now hangs in the steel shade structure, where weddings, celebrations, fundraisers, and family gatherings have taken place ever since.
“I love that story because it says so much about Dig It,” Jessica said. “Some of the best things we’ve done came from listening to people, being open to new ideas, and letting the community help shape what this place could become.”
That belief is rooted in a phrase Ryan returns to often: Plants Grow People. Inspired by the idea that growing people is the work of a lifetime, the phrase has become part of Dig It’s DNA and a reminder that the business has always been about more than what lives in a pot.
“At the end of the day, we just want Dig It to be a place where people feel a little better after they’ve been here,” Ryan said. “If someone leaves with a smile, a little inspiration, and feeling more connected than when they walked in, that’s what it’s all about.”
Dig It Gardens is located at 3015 N. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016. For more information, visit digphx.com or call 602-812-7476.
