Few plants can beautify a lowly utility pole the way a flowering trumpet creeper vine can.
Subtle it is not. Long after many wildflowers have wilted in the midsummer heat, trumpet creeper cranks out flamboyant scarlet-orange blossoms. The vine climbs its way over anything in its path, scaling trees, rocks, fences, and walls. In the woods, it cascades down from the canopy like a vernal waterfall. In the backyard, it will run away like a train. But wherever it grows, trumpet creeper gives as much as it takes, and its beauty is more than skin deep. Hummingbirds drink deeply of its copious nectar. Sphinx moth caterpillars feed on its leaves. Warblers and thrashers and wrens nest in its dense tendrils, protected by a vine gone wild.
In Gorges State Park and other remote areas of our state, swinging suspension bridges — practically woven into the woods around them — transport hikers over rivers, across creeks, and into the past.
North Carolina’s state symbols make up a one-of-a-kind collection that tells our story. They include our native plants, the art we create, the crops we grow, and so much more.
He was smitten with the flavors of her Zimbabwean cooking. She was intrigued by his rural North Carolina upbringing. Together, they created a life in Durham — and a namesake restaurant that was the first of its kind in the entire country.
Calling all North Carolinians! Cast your vote in our monthly match-up.
