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Big Cypress Natives

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Camden, NC
Big Cypress Natives

I grow North Carolina native plants that support the local ecosystem. NC registered nursery #9276.

05/27/2026

I recently had the good luck of finding myself in southeastern coastal NC with a little time to check out the incredible diversity of a fire-dependent longleaf pine savanna. The open understories were packed with blooming Venus flytraps and pitcher plants, orchids, and blueberries just to name a few. And I wasn't harassed by a single mosquito or tick while strolling through this paradise.

I like to tell anyone who will listen that places like this still exist and they defined coastal NC just a few generations ago. No one should settle for a tangle of Japanese honeysuckle and privet or dull, lifeless box store annuals. Demand regionally appropriate native plants.

IDs are under the pictures. I could be a little off on some. These aren't plants I see every day.

05/25/2026

Sweet azalea (Rhododendron serrulatum) is blooming now in Camden County, NC. One of North Carolina's many beautiful native azaleas.

05/14/2026

Here are a few recent wild blooms from the Pasquotank/Camden County area. Catching seasonal changes keeps me enjoying familiar spots every time I go. Southern blue flag (Iris virginica), false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), and common elderberry (Sambucus canadensis).

04/30/2026

I found this Question Mark Butterfly on a short walk yesterday which was kind of cool because I've never seen one sit still long enough for a clear picture. They don't visit flowers so they're not as famous or as easy to find as our iconic monarchs and swallowtails.

This one was exhibiting territorial behavior by aggressively circling a patch of false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), one of its larval hosts. Most people never give this common ditch-dwelling plant a second look because of its tiny, inconspicuous flowers. I've never seen it planted intentionally to support caterpillars like we do with milkw**d. It's a great example of how wild native plants are an important piece of a bigger whole, whether you notice them or not. Pasquotank County, NC.

04/28/2026

Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata) is a hardy, drought tolerant native member of the mint family that's often persecuted as a w**d. That's a shame because it's useful as ground cover or green mulch, it attracts hummingbirds, and it's a host for Southern Pink Moths and others. It's even edible and may have medicinal qualities. And if you give it a little space of its own it can put on a show in the garden like these three plants I added just last fall. Camden, NC.

https://www.nurturenativenature.com/post/connecting-the-dots-southern-pink-moths-native-lyre-leaf-sage-and-pesticides

04/17/2026

I'll be at the Currituck Extension Home and Garden Show tomorrow April 18th from 9 - 3 with some plants for sale! I'll have American Beautyberry, red chokeberry, three types of native milkw**d, and some tree seedlings available. I'm especially excited to be offering a beautiful batch of swamp milkw**d from a wild local seed source! Hope to see some of you there.

04/07/2026

My red chokeberries (Aronia arbutifolia) are full of aphids. And here's why I don't care. Shortly after the aphids came, ladybug larvae and well-camouflaged hoverfly larvae rushed in to eat as many of them as they could. Other aphids turned black and died after being parasitized by tiny solitary wasps. These same predators along with lacewings will be my first line of defense when the dreaded oleander aphids start coming for my milkw**d in the summer. There's really nothing you can do to remove the aphids without also destroying their predators. Then the aphids come back with a vengeance, unchecked. It's a whole ecosystem under your nose, and all you need to do is stand back and watch. That's the beauty of gardening with native plants.

The rest of these beautiful plants will be available at the Currituck Extension on Saturday, April 18th at 9:00 for $22 each. I only have a few left until next year.

Camden, NC

04/03/2026

"If you plant it, they will come!" This sentiment is sometimes expressed when a nature-loving gardener has successfully attracted a target species to a plant they introduced. It's a moment of celebration only made possible by the fact that declining species like the monarch butterfly are still abundant and mobile enough to capitalize when habitat improves. But when a species is truly gone, no amount of its host plant can bring it back and the world is poorer for the loss.

With that in mind, please allow me to advocate for a less conspicuous butterfly, the frosted elfin (Callophrys irus). This small, non-migratory member of the hairstreak family has only a handful of remaining confirmed populations scattered across North Carolina, but there could be more waiting to be found! Since they can't cover distance like a monarch, habitat loss leads to isolated populations vunlerable to extirpation. To survive it needs more of its native lupine and baptisia host plants. These plants have declined along with fire-dependent longleaf pine forests. We know they can use the following three plants in NC, but it doesn't hurt to look out for them on other related legumes!

*Lupinus perennis
*Lupinus diffusus
*Baptisia tinctoria

I hope some of you will take the time to watch this excellent presentation hosted by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation which includes details on getting involved. Our local chapter Wildlife Habitat Stewards of Northeastern NC will be conducting surveys later this month. Anyone can participate! April is their peak flying month. We are looking for photos with location. Pictures of ovipositing females and the plants they are using are especially helpful!

Enjoy the nice weather, look for some interesting animals, and of course consider adding their host plants to your gardens! Information on completing the survey with the ArcGIS Survey123 app is in the video. If you're lucky enough to capture a sighting, please share in the comments!

Photo is sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) found in Chowan County just a few days ago. Credit Tyler Neitzey

https://youtu.be/UJFRMiiiiBk?si=C3-o4Z2MINUJ3Koe

03/31/2026

Southern dewberry (Rubus trivialis) is blooming in the Elizabeth City, NC area. It doesn't grow upright canes like its blackberry relatives, but creeps inconspicuously at ground level in disturbed areas where it can find enough light. I've seen thick patches of it stretching out over unused asphalt.

It has large pink-tinged flowers that make a short but dramatic display. Its thorns are softer than the similar northern dewberry, and they are unlikely to break your skin. And for me, it has the best tasting fruit of any local rubus species.

It isn't officially present on my side of the Albemarle Sound, but I'm confident in my ID. I've found several patches in Pasquotank County.

03/28/2026

Common sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria) is blooming in Camden County! Don't overlook this one. It's inconspicuous for most of the year, but I consider it one of our showiest and most fragrant spring bloomers. It's also the only host plant for King's hairstreak butterflies.

https://alabama.butterflyatlas.usf.edu/species/details/139/kings-hairstreak

03/19/2026

Blooming this week in Camden, NC. Wild black highbush blueberry (Vaccinium fuscatum) and southern red oak (Quercus falcata).

Blueberries are "buzz pollinated" by native solitary southeastern blueberry bees. These specialist pollinators are only active for a few weeks in spring.
http://www.nativenurseries.com/blog/blueberries-are-pollinated-by-native-bees #:~:text=Here%20are%20some%20ways%20to%20attract%20blueberry,each%20year%2C%20which%20coincides%20with%20blueberry%20flowering.

Oak trees are wind pollinated. Shaking the yellow male catkins this time of year may yield a cloud of pollen.

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