Information on this page is for plant species with scientific names starting with F to O.
For information on species with names starting with other letters, click on the buttons below.
Fragaria virginiana, wild strawberry
Yes, they're edible! This is our native, yummy strawberry. If you want to get to the ripe fruits before the birds, chipmunks, and everyone else, you'll have to be on the ball-- everyone finds them very tasty. This plant makes a great spreading groundcover in part-shady areas and is drought-tolerant.
Heterotheca subaxillaris, camphorweed
I saw this plant blooming on the roadside near the railroad tracks last fall and kept my eyes on it until I could harvest some seeds. It has kind of a wild-and-wooly look to it, with bright yellow flowers. It clearly does well in poor quality soil and full sun. It grew well from seed so I've got a bunch of these beauties!
Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower
The tall spikes of red flowers on this summer-blooming plant are favorites of hummingbirds! This plant does well in full sun to shade, but does like to have ample moisture through the hot summer months.
This is a favorite plant of hummingbirds. But deer love it too.
So make sure you either have enough to satisfy the hummers and the deer, or come up with a way to keep the deer away. (Spreading human or dog hair or shavings from Irish Spring bar soap are a few things you could try.)
Monarda fistulosa, bee balm
This summer-blooming plant has pale pink to lavendar blooms popular with pollinators. The plant likes full sun, and a bit of moisture in the soil. It may get to be about 4’ tall.
Oenothera biennis, evening primrose
A friend gave me seeds of this evening-blooming species last fall and I've been lucky enough to have a bunch of them germinate! This delicate, light yellow-flowered plant is biennial, meaning it grows a bunch of leaves the first year and then produces a bunch of flowers in its second year. If it self-seeds, you may see leaves again the third year, and then flowers every year thereafter, resulting from seeds that have germinated from the soil.
It should do well in dry, sunny areas and may get to be a few feet tall in its flowering years.
Here's a picture from the NC Extension Office webpage: https://s3.amazonaws.com/eit-planttoolbox-prod/media/images/Oenothera-biennis--Andreas-Rockstein--CC-BY-SA.jpg
