Field notes from our garden
We're two native plant enthusiasts in the Piedmont of North Carolina. A few years ago we read Doug Tallamy's Nature's Best Hope, and it changed how we saw our yard: not a lawn to maintain, but habitat waiting to happen. We started with one sunny side garden and some stubborn clay, and we haven't stopped since.
As the garden filled in, the wildlife arrived, hummingbirds, moths, bees, the
occasional monarch passing through on migration. One morning, watching it all from the front porch with coffee in hand, we had an idea. Why not make plant tags that hold onto these moments? Not just a name on a stake, but a small snapshot of the garden and the creature that visited it.
Every design starts in our own garden. The front of each tag features the species and the wildlife it supports; the back carries the common and scientific name plus a QR code linking to the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, so growing info is always a scan away. The tags are 3D printed in small batches from weatherproof PETG.
We're still learning and still adding to the garden. HuBo Native is our way of
sharing that journey, and maybe helping a few more gardeners fall for native plants the way we did. We keep a blog with more garden pictures and helpful resources for fellow native plant enthusiasts - check us out at hubonative.com.