Joe Bells

...and around the village you will notice some pretty red and yellow daisy like flowers along the highway growing in amongst the grass and on the dunes. These are locally known as "Joe Bell" flowers, scientifically called Gaillardia aristata.

According to one popular legend, the original flower seeds were brought here by a man named Joe Bell who was from Washington, NC. He came to Ocracoke love-sick and broken-hearted because his lady love had married another. He moved here to escape his broken heart. He planted flower seeds until one day he was found lying dead in the patch of the beautiful blooms. However "Joe Bell's" nephew, Fred Mallison, says that while his uncle did bring Gaillardia seeds to the Outer Banks, it was not because of a broken heart.

Regardless of how they got here they help make the island more colorful from April to early December and they tolerant our sandy soil and hot summer sun.