We sell native, heirloom, and hard to find sustainable plants. Many of our plants fit all three of these criteria. Inventory changes frequently; therefore we do not publish weekly availability. It is best to email us at [email protected]. We can arrange a pickup or delivery (Columbia area) of plants. Cash, check (made to Primitive By Design), or credit card payment is accepted.
Scroll down for most recent list - even if listed as sold out, we might have 1-2 to still sell.
Important Note: Mature sizes of plants are based on native habitat conditions. Expect plants to be smaller in the home landscape where conditions have been modified.
We do not ship plants!
1. All information has been referenced courtesy of NC State. For any plant, google the name of the plant and add NC State in the search to read more. For example: Helianthus tuberosus NC State
2. Email order and/or inquiry to [email protected] - Pick up is usually on Fridays from 4-6. Other arrangements can be scheduled. No sales tax is added. Check or cash is preferred; otherwise service charge of 3% is added to CC. Make checks out to Primitive By Design. Once we receive your order, we will provide directions on where to pick up in West Columbia.
3. While we would love to answer every question about what plant to put where, it is just not feasible. You know YOUR conditions better than we do. With all the information at the tips of your fingers, we suggest doing some self-guided research along with reading this document and our other document that we can share. Read the availability document and the catalog both available on the same link.
4. Quantities are limited. While you might order something, that does not guarantee we sell out before your order is processed.
Note for choosing the number of plants you would like: 1 plant is lonely unless it is as a specimen plant massed with other plants to highlight it. 2 of the same is too formal. 3 or odd numbers are recommended unless for larger trees.
Once our healthy plants leave our premise, we do not know what you do with the plants; therefore, only you and your environment/care can help to guarantee success.
Simply write the name and number of plants desired and email us.
3Gallon Sized Material - $25 each
_____Alnus serrulata aka smooth alder. Fruits eaten by many species of birds; host to harvester butterfly. This is a nitrogen-fixating plant.
_____Aesculus pavia aka red buckeye. Flowers used by hummingbirds, bees; host to 37 different species of moths and butterflies.
_____Amorpha fruticosa aka false indigo. Attracts bees and other pollinators including four butterflies - southern dogface, hoary-edge skipper, gray hairstreak and silver-spotted skipper. The plant is also a natural insecticide! Sold Out
_____Aralia spinosa aka devil’s walking stick. Hard to find in the trade!, nectar for bees, berries for birds. Related to ginseng and was a medicinal plant of the Cherokee. Sold Out
_____Aronia arbutifolia aka red chokeberry. In the rose family. Great for bees and butterflies like hairstreak and bluestem along with spring moths. Songbirds feast on the berries. Add for the winter garden!
_____Asimina triloba - American pawpaw. America's only native tropical fruit. Best grown as a understory plant in rich, moist soil but could adapt with proper care. Tastes like a custard blend of banana, cantaloup, and mango. Available in March 2025.
_____Callicarpa americana aka beauty berry. Fruits eaten by finch, bobwhite, robin, thrasher and other songbirds. Host for spring azure. More plants = more fruit. A great children’s garden plant. Berries are edible.
_____Calycanthus floridus aka sweet shrub. Fragrant flowers smell like pineapple, strawberry, and banana to some. Loved by butterflies.
_____Catalpa bignonioides aka bean/cigar tree. A very misunderstood tree. In the south it gets covered by Catalpa worms which are actually the caterpillars of future Sphinx moths. The tree will rebound and has great interest with its bean looking pods. Don’t hate.
_____Cephalanthus occidentalis aka buttonbush. Your native replacement for butterfly bushes and a children’s garden favorite addition. Unique pompom like flowers are favorites for any butterfly passing by!
_____Cyrilla racemiflora aka swamp titi. Hard to find in the trade!, Nectar plant with flowers that look similar to sourwood. Use this plant to spur conversation about the flowers!
_____Diospyros virginiana aka persimmon. Fruit is eaten by many mammals, bees, butterflies and humans. Fruit tastes like cinnamon apple/pumpkin pie but be sure to know exactly when to pick it. The wood is very strong having once been used to make golf clubs. About 2 1/2’ tall currently. Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Ilex decidua aka possumhaw holly. Seldom available in the trade. Host for Henry’s Elfin butterfly and berries are loved by songbirds including cedar waxwings. Best to plant in threes to ensure heavy berry production. Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Itea virginica aka Virginia sweet spire . Butterflies and bees love the flowers and the seeds eaten by birds. Great in a mass. Host for Azure butterflies.
_____Lindera benzoin aka spicebush. Larval plant for spicebush swallowtail which has an amazing looking caterpillar demonstrating true mimicry! They will defoliate the plant, but it will survive. Plant several for more conservation efforts in your own SC certified backyard wildlife habitat! Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Lyonia lucida aka fetterbush. Seldom available in the trade in our area. Just a neat plant for the bees. Plant in a place that will allow it to naturalize like Itea.
_____Magnolia ashei - big leaf Magnolia. Debate exists whether this is a subspecies of Magnolia macrophylla or a separate species. All we know is that it is hard to find, has giant leaves, and is equally impressive - deciduous.
_____Osmanthus/Cartrema americanus aka devilwood. RARE/HARD TO FIND!!! Few know this plant as a native tea olive. Also has a fragrant flower with a double bonus that the fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals - something the Asian species does not allow. A plant collector’s plant.
_____Physocarpus opulifolius aka ninebark. Lots of ninebarks have been introduced in the last two decades as an alternative to Loropetalum. Though deciduous, the older this plant gets, the more the bark defoliates. In the rose family, pollinators love the flowers. Very underutilized, it is known to host numerous moths, including the Io moth, Glorious Habrosyne, Bluish Spring Moth, Hitched Arches moth, and the Large Maple Spanworm, to name a few!
_____Rhododendron species - native azaleas - getting harder and harder to find - available in March 2020
Rhododendron atlanticum
Rhododendron austrinum
Rhododendron canescens
Rhododendron flammeum
_____Rhus copallinum aka shiny sumac. Great for a tropical look, this is a very misunderstood plant. The fruits are eaten by mockingbird, robin, thrasher, red-eyed vireo, cardinal. Host for the Luna Moth as well as the red banded hairstreak butterfly. Sold Out
_____Sassafras albidum aka sassafras. With edible/medicinal qualities this is a neat plant that has high nectar for butterflies including being a host for spicebush swallowtails. Yes, you can make a root-bear like drink from the roots if you are into homesteading.
_____Symphoricarpos orbiculatus aka coralberry. Hard to find in the trade! Host for 25 species of butterflies and moths including the hummingbird moth. A plant collector’s plant.
_____Taxodium distichum aka bald cypress. Seeds eaten by ducks, host to the bald cypress sphinx moth. Quite resistant to drought once established. Fall rust color of needles creates a beautiful ground needle layer. Special price $10
_____Vaccinium arboreum aka sparkleberry. A misunderstood plant in the blueberry family! Host for the brown Elfin butterfly and striped hairstreak and songbirds feast on the seeds. In general, the Vaccinium genus supports over 200 butterflies. A very versatile plant with great bark texture. Available in March 2025.
We have 3 Viburnums available - no bird garden is complete without Viburnums and the berries that attract songbirds.
_____Viburnum dentatum aka arrowwood Viburnum
_____Viburnum nudum aka possumhaw Viburnum
_____Viburnum prunifolium aka blackhaw Viburnum
_____Styrax americanus aka American silver bells. Another hard to find plant in the trade! A major host plant for the promethea moth while the fruit is loved by songbirds. Don’t confuse this with the Asian species which is beautiful but does not support native wildlife life this one does!
_____Vaccinium arboreum aka Sparkleberry. Another increasingly hard to find that people simple do not appreciate. Beautiful bark texture in winter when this plant, depending on temperatures could be semi-evergreen to deciduous. A bird favorite. Available in March 2025.
_____Zanthoxylum clava-herculis aka Hercules Club/tootheache tree. Rare in the trade, unique, hard to find! Host to the giant swallowtail, this plant is related to citrus. A very prehistoric dinosaur looking plant that is a plant collector’s plant! Its common name is such that early settlers chewed the bark to numb the pain from toothaches.
1Gallon Sized Material - $12 each except Erythrina.
_____Erythrina herbacea aka coral bean. Flowers attract hummingbirds. A Primitive By Design favorite - versatile in light shade or full sun all day - very drought tolerant. Tardy/late deciduous in some years, the old growth looks like a tumbleweed in the winter before new growth emerges from the base. Requires little effort. Not often readily available. $15
_____Euonymus americanus aka Hearts a Bustin. Fruits eaten by birds. An old south heirloom native. Sold Out
_____Helianthus tuberosus aka Jerusalem artichoke. Pollinators and butterflies enjoy and you can too including the edible tubers!
3 selections of Hibiscus which all attract pollinators, hummingbirds and butterflies.
_____Hibiscus coccineus aka scarlet rose mallow or red swamp hibiscus
_____Hibiscus grandiflorus aka pink swamp hibiscus
_____Hibiscus moscheutos aka swamp mallow
_____Passiflora incarnata aka passion vine. Flowers visited by gulf fritillary butterfly, larval plant for others. If naturalizes, go with it! Plant in an area you are ok with is growing up, over, and on other plants and enjoy the fact that you are helping creatures of this world. Plus, the magnificent beauty of the flowers turn into tasty fruit perfect for summer botanical cocktails!
Non-native, Hard to find/limited, buy now before potted to next size and price goes up! Great for containers until large enough to plant in the ground permanently.
_____Adina rubella aka Chinese buttonbush, 1gallon, $20 A plant collector’s plant not often seen available!
_____Crinum sp - milk and wine lilies, 3gallon, $20 - an old south indestructible bulb sometimes seen blooming between February - November.
_____Heptacodium miconioides aka seven son flower, 3gallon, $30 - A alternative to overused crepe myrtles in the honeysuckle family. Sold Out
_____Magnolia figo - Banana shrub - previously known as Michelia figo, 1gallon, $15. Nothing beats the glossy evergreen foliage and sweet, wonderfully fragrant flowers. An old-south heirloom plant!
_____Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus - Fragrant orange tea olive - that’s right an orange blooming tea olive just as fragrant. $20, 1gallon
_____Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus "Apricot Echo" - What’s the difference to the other Osmanthus listed? This one is a re-bloomer. $20, 1gallon
_____Osmanthus heterophyllus "Goshiki" - Goshiki translates from Japanese as "five colors". Its new leaves emerge red and quickly turn green. The green leaves are daubed with spots of creamy white, gray-green, and yellow-green. This lovely evergreen selection makes a great accent or hedge. Slow growing. Suggested use in a container for several years until large enough to plant in the ground. $20, 1gallon
Scroll down for most recent list - even if listed as sold out, we might have 1-2 to still sell.
Important Note: Mature sizes of plants are based on native habitat conditions. Expect plants to be smaller in the home landscape where conditions have been modified.
We do not ship plants!
1. All information has been referenced courtesy of NC State. For any plant, google the name of the plant and add NC State in the search to read more. For example: Helianthus tuberosus NC State
2. Email order and/or inquiry to [email protected] - Pick up is usually on Fridays from 4-6. Other arrangements can be scheduled. No sales tax is added. Check or cash is preferred; otherwise service charge of 3% is added to CC. Make checks out to Primitive By Design. Once we receive your order, we will provide directions on where to pick up in West Columbia.
3. While we would love to answer every question about what plant to put where, it is just not feasible. You know YOUR conditions better than we do. With all the information at the tips of your fingers, we suggest doing some self-guided research along with reading this document and our other document that we can share. Read the availability document and the catalog both available on the same link.
4. Quantities are limited. While you might order something, that does not guarantee we sell out before your order is processed.
Note for choosing the number of plants you would like: 1 plant is lonely unless it is as a specimen plant massed with other plants to highlight it. 2 of the same is too formal. 3 or odd numbers are recommended unless for larger trees.
Once our healthy plants leave our premise, we do not know what you do with the plants; therefore, only you and your environment/care can help to guarantee success.
Simply write the name and number of plants desired and email us.
3Gallon Sized Material - $25 each
_____Alnus serrulata aka smooth alder. Fruits eaten by many species of birds; host to harvester butterfly. This is a nitrogen-fixating plant.
_____Aesculus pavia aka red buckeye. Flowers used by hummingbirds, bees; host to 37 different species of moths and butterflies.
_____Amorpha fruticosa aka false indigo. Attracts bees and other pollinators including four butterflies - southern dogface, hoary-edge skipper, gray hairstreak and silver-spotted skipper. The plant is also a natural insecticide! Sold Out
_____Aralia spinosa aka devil’s walking stick. Hard to find in the trade!, nectar for bees, berries for birds. Related to ginseng and was a medicinal plant of the Cherokee. Sold Out
_____Aronia arbutifolia aka red chokeberry. In the rose family. Great for bees and butterflies like hairstreak and bluestem along with spring moths. Songbirds feast on the berries. Add for the winter garden!
_____Asimina triloba - American pawpaw. America's only native tropical fruit. Best grown as a understory plant in rich, moist soil but could adapt with proper care. Tastes like a custard blend of banana, cantaloup, and mango. Available in March 2025.
_____Callicarpa americana aka beauty berry. Fruits eaten by finch, bobwhite, robin, thrasher and other songbirds. Host for spring azure. More plants = more fruit. A great children’s garden plant. Berries are edible.
_____Calycanthus floridus aka sweet shrub. Fragrant flowers smell like pineapple, strawberry, and banana to some. Loved by butterflies.
_____Catalpa bignonioides aka bean/cigar tree. A very misunderstood tree. In the south it gets covered by Catalpa worms which are actually the caterpillars of future Sphinx moths. The tree will rebound and has great interest with its bean looking pods. Don’t hate.
_____Cephalanthus occidentalis aka buttonbush. Your native replacement for butterfly bushes and a children’s garden favorite addition. Unique pompom like flowers are favorites for any butterfly passing by!
_____Cyrilla racemiflora aka swamp titi. Hard to find in the trade!, Nectar plant with flowers that look similar to sourwood. Use this plant to spur conversation about the flowers!
_____Diospyros virginiana aka persimmon. Fruit is eaten by many mammals, bees, butterflies and humans. Fruit tastes like cinnamon apple/pumpkin pie but be sure to know exactly when to pick it. The wood is very strong having once been used to make golf clubs. About 2 1/2’ tall currently. Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Ilex decidua aka possumhaw holly. Seldom available in the trade. Host for Henry’s Elfin butterfly and berries are loved by songbirds including cedar waxwings. Best to plant in threes to ensure heavy berry production. Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Itea virginica aka Virginia sweet spire . Butterflies and bees love the flowers and the seeds eaten by birds. Great in a mass. Host for Azure butterflies.
_____Lindera benzoin aka spicebush. Larval plant for spicebush swallowtail which has an amazing looking caterpillar demonstrating true mimicry! They will defoliate the plant, but it will survive. Plant several for more conservation efforts in your own SC certified backyard wildlife habitat! Sold Out - available in March 2025.
_____Lyonia lucida aka fetterbush. Seldom available in the trade in our area. Just a neat plant for the bees. Plant in a place that will allow it to naturalize like Itea.
_____Magnolia ashei - big leaf Magnolia. Debate exists whether this is a subspecies of Magnolia macrophylla or a separate species. All we know is that it is hard to find, has giant leaves, and is equally impressive - deciduous.
_____Osmanthus/Cartrema americanus aka devilwood. RARE/HARD TO FIND!!! Few know this plant as a native tea olive. Also has a fragrant flower with a double bonus that the fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals - something the Asian species does not allow. A plant collector’s plant.
_____Physocarpus opulifolius aka ninebark. Lots of ninebarks have been introduced in the last two decades as an alternative to Loropetalum. Though deciduous, the older this plant gets, the more the bark defoliates. In the rose family, pollinators love the flowers. Very underutilized, it is known to host numerous moths, including the Io moth, Glorious Habrosyne, Bluish Spring Moth, Hitched Arches moth, and the Large Maple Spanworm, to name a few!
_____Rhododendron species - native azaleas - getting harder and harder to find - available in March 2020
Rhododendron atlanticum
Rhododendron austrinum
Rhododendron canescens
Rhododendron flammeum
_____Rhus copallinum aka shiny sumac. Great for a tropical look, this is a very misunderstood plant. The fruits are eaten by mockingbird, robin, thrasher, red-eyed vireo, cardinal. Host for the Luna Moth as well as the red banded hairstreak butterfly. Sold Out
_____Sassafras albidum aka sassafras. With edible/medicinal qualities this is a neat plant that has high nectar for butterflies including being a host for spicebush swallowtails. Yes, you can make a root-bear like drink from the roots if you are into homesteading.
_____Symphoricarpos orbiculatus aka coralberry. Hard to find in the trade! Host for 25 species of butterflies and moths including the hummingbird moth. A plant collector’s plant.
_____Taxodium distichum aka bald cypress. Seeds eaten by ducks, host to the bald cypress sphinx moth. Quite resistant to drought once established. Fall rust color of needles creates a beautiful ground needle layer. Special price $10
_____Vaccinium arboreum aka sparkleberry. A misunderstood plant in the blueberry family! Host for the brown Elfin butterfly and striped hairstreak and songbirds feast on the seeds. In general, the Vaccinium genus supports over 200 butterflies. A very versatile plant with great bark texture. Available in March 2025.
We have 3 Viburnums available - no bird garden is complete without Viburnums and the berries that attract songbirds.
_____Viburnum dentatum aka arrowwood Viburnum
_____Viburnum nudum aka possumhaw Viburnum
_____Viburnum prunifolium aka blackhaw Viburnum
_____Styrax americanus aka American silver bells. Another hard to find plant in the trade! A major host plant for the promethea moth while the fruit is loved by songbirds. Don’t confuse this with the Asian species which is beautiful but does not support native wildlife life this one does!
_____Vaccinium arboreum aka Sparkleberry. Another increasingly hard to find that people simple do not appreciate. Beautiful bark texture in winter when this plant, depending on temperatures could be semi-evergreen to deciduous. A bird favorite. Available in March 2025.
_____Zanthoxylum clava-herculis aka Hercules Club/tootheache tree. Rare in the trade, unique, hard to find! Host to the giant swallowtail, this plant is related to citrus. A very prehistoric dinosaur looking plant that is a plant collector’s plant! Its common name is such that early settlers chewed the bark to numb the pain from toothaches.
1Gallon Sized Material - $12 each except Erythrina.
_____Erythrina herbacea aka coral bean. Flowers attract hummingbirds. A Primitive By Design favorite - versatile in light shade or full sun all day - very drought tolerant. Tardy/late deciduous in some years, the old growth looks like a tumbleweed in the winter before new growth emerges from the base. Requires little effort. Not often readily available. $15
_____Euonymus americanus aka Hearts a Bustin. Fruits eaten by birds. An old south heirloom native. Sold Out
_____Helianthus tuberosus aka Jerusalem artichoke. Pollinators and butterflies enjoy and you can too including the edible tubers!
3 selections of Hibiscus which all attract pollinators, hummingbirds and butterflies.
_____Hibiscus coccineus aka scarlet rose mallow or red swamp hibiscus
_____Hibiscus grandiflorus aka pink swamp hibiscus
_____Hibiscus moscheutos aka swamp mallow
_____Passiflora incarnata aka passion vine. Flowers visited by gulf fritillary butterfly, larval plant for others. If naturalizes, go with it! Plant in an area you are ok with is growing up, over, and on other plants and enjoy the fact that you are helping creatures of this world. Plus, the magnificent beauty of the flowers turn into tasty fruit perfect for summer botanical cocktails!
Non-native, Hard to find/limited, buy now before potted to next size and price goes up! Great for containers until large enough to plant in the ground permanently.
_____Adina rubella aka Chinese buttonbush, 1gallon, $20 A plant collector’s plant not often seen available!
_____Crinum sp - milk and wine lilies, 3gallon, $20 - an old south indestructible bulb sometimes seen blooming between February - November.
_____Heptacodium miconioides aka seven son flower, 3gallon, $30 - A alternative to overused crepe myrtles in the honeysuckle family. Sold Out
_____Magnolia figo - Banana shrub - previously known as Michelia figo, 1gallon, $15. Nothing beats the glossy evergreen foliage and sweet, wonderfully fragrant flowers. An old-south heirloom plant!
_____Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus - Fragrant orange tea olive - that’s right an orange blooming tea olive just as fragrant. $20, 1gallon
_____Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus "Apricot Echo" - What’s the difference to the other Osmanthus listed? This one is a re-bloomer. $20, 1gallon
_____Osmanthus heterophyllus "Goshiki" - Goshiki translates from Japanese as "five colors". Its new leaves emerge red and quickly turn green. The green leaves are daubed with spots of creamy white, gray-green, and yellow-green. This lovely evergreen selection makes a great accent or hedge. Slow growing. Suggested use in a container for several years until large enough to plant in the ground. $20, 1gallon