OBX Native Plants

OBX Native Plants A place to share information about all the wonderful native plants that help make the OBX special!

Most of all, I want to provide practical information about how to create yards that support native wildlife and maintain our Sense of Place:)

August 23Been awhile since I’ve done a “what’s blooming in the backyard” post! I may have missed a couple of things, but...
08/24/2026

August 23
Been awhile since I’ve done a “what’s blooming in the backyard” post! I may have missed a couple of things, but enough to get an idea 💡….

Peaky is a fan of judging a plants value by it’s attributes, not by our pre-conceptions. This plant gets a lot of bad pr...
08/13/2026

Peaky is a fan of judging a plants value by it’s attributes, not by our pre-conceptions. This plant gets a lot of bad press, but it really just misunderstood! It is so good for pollinators, can intermingle successfully with turfgrass where needed, and -with appropriate plant selection -can grow in your perennial garden as an understory plant. So skip the sprays, and start appreciating this lovely plant and the beneficial insects it attracts to your yard (because as hard as you try you’ll never be rid of it anyway!).

Question: It is looking like I will have some plants to divide and seedlings to dig this fall that will be looking for n...
08/12/2026

Question: It is looking like I will have some plants to divide and seedlings to dig this fall that will be looking for new homes (once it is a little cooler). Kind of a random assortment of things, but would love for them to have new homes! Since potting them up isn't cheap these days, I wanted to gauge interest in any of these before I decide what to pot up next month. Mainly looking to recoup the costs of soil and time, so please send a message if you'd have interest and/or have requests. Some of the plants pictured here (see photos for plant names). If there is any interest I can send more detailed info once I know for sure what needs to be dug and/or divided. Thanks!!!

…. So if you have any of these spaces in the edges of your property, don’t think of them as messy or in need of clearing...
07/26/2026

…. So if you have any of these spaces in the edges of your property, don’t think of them as messy or in need of clearing, just take some time to look at all the wildlife they support! Pictured here are just a few of the insects we saw in just 5 minutes of searching in the Ampelopsis (pepper vine) and marsh morning glory: American bumblebee, Fiery Skipper , Metallic Sweat Bee, Native wasp (still working on id) and Delaware Skipper

07/08/2026

Public service announcement: most pesticide labels indicate that you should spray for thing h the morning or the evening to avoid harming “beneficials”. I’m not sure what they are basing this on as these are often the busiest time of day in my garden 🤔 during the heat of summer in the south. My 2 cents: when is the best time to spray… ? …never!! There are many alternatives to coexisting with the bugs we label as pests that don’t involve spraying pesticides. 🐾🐾❤️❤️

As Pollinator Week wraps up, i wanted to remind everyone that in our quest to “create” Pollinator Gardens, it’s importan...
06/29/2026

As Pollinator Week wraps up, i wanted to remind everyone that in our quest to “create” Pollinator Gardens, it’s important not to overlook the plants in our yards that we didn’t purposefully put there. We like to call them weeds, and while sometimes they are, other times they are just plants that’s aren’t as conventionally attractive to us humans, but are often more so to the many insects that depend on them. Sometimes all we really need to do is just leave things alone and pay attention to what’s already there 🐝 Here are just a few growing wild in the roadside in Buxton, NC. What wildlife friendly natives might be volunteering in your own yard that you’ve overlooked?

Partridge Pea… host plant for Cloudless Sulphur and many other wildlife benefits, plus just a beautiful plant :)
06/17/2026

Partridge Pea… host plant for Cloudless Sulphur and many other wildlife benefits, plus just a beautiful plant :)

I always forget if it’s frogfruit or fogfruit 🤔 but either way I love it! A welcome addition to any lawn and a great gro...
06/03/2026

I always forget if it’s frogfruit or fogfruit 🤔 but either way I love it! A welcome addition to any lawn and a great groundcover that also works well in a container:) Peaky much prefers it to sandspurs.

Peaky’s plant pick this week: Penstemon! If you love snapdragons, but would like to have a perennial instead of annual, ...
05/18/2026

Peaky’s plant pick this week: Penstemon! If you love snapdragons, but would like to have a perennial instead of annual, this is a great choice. Plus, it’s visited by both bees and hummingbirds!! Bonus: the foliage is evergreen so you don’t “lose” it in the winter:)

05/10/2026

Best “bug” videos this week: 1. Osmia chalybea: metallic blue mason bee is host specialist on thistle. 2. Palamedes swallowtail caterpillar 🐛 on its host plant Swamp Bay. 3 Eight-spotted Forester Moth caterpillar 4. American Bumblebee on Beardtongue

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