LEGEND HAS IT

Legend

HAS IT

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH NEAL STORY BY AMELIA BOLDAJI

AS WITH MOST MYTHS, THE STORY STARTS SIMPLY: THERE IS A MAN WITH A FLOWER.

Various narratives branch out from there, but nearly all include a broken heart – and the protagonist in question goes by the name Joe Bell. Here on the Outer Banks, he is remembered as the man who introduced the striking red and yellow fl owers that now mostly thrive unattended in the shallows of sand dunes and along roadsides throughout the barrier islands.

The fl ower has become so common locally that many assume it’s always been here. In truth, the perennial is native to more northwestern regions of North America where it’s usually called a blanketfl ower or a fi rewheel – a strain of Gaillardias that are kin to sunfl owers – and it only arrived on the shores of the Outer Banks in the early 1900s.

This is where the romance, and a touch of mystery, lies. Some of the Joe Bell accounts describe him as an adventurer, some as a forlorn wanderer, and others as a courteous man who merely admired beautiful things. Said to have been unlucky in love, Joe moved to Ocracoke Island later in life after growing up on the North Carolina mainland, and he brought with him the seeds of his legacy.

Like Johnny Appleseed, Joe introduced the fl owers to the village – whether by planting them in his yard, letting them blow away in the wind, or by gifting them to kind strangers who helped soothe his broken heart; it’s hard to say. Whether he passed away unremarkably at the end of a long, well-lived life or he was struck down suddenly and discovered in a burial shroud of fi ery petals, is also somewhat debatable.

Regardless of the tale you choose to believe, what’s undeniable is that these vigorous summer-season wildfl owers return here year after year no matter how harsh the conditions, making a coastal home in the only area where they’re known as joebells. Which is, perhaps, just a touching reminder that love – even when it may appear lost – can always blossom again.