I saw these bushes on one of my morning bike rides at the beach.  There are also some in Linda's neighborhood in Yorktown, VA.  I love them.  The botanical name is Myrica cerifera, and they are commonly known as Bayberry, or Waxmyrtle.  

 

Bayberry are large bushes, reaching 10-12 feet, and they grow in sandy soil.  I've read that they can withstand top burning, leaving the roots to resprout.  Of course, they can only survive a couple years of that harshness, but still...that's pretty amazing.

 

Growing up in Virginia, we often went to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  We learned that the colonists used bayberries to make scented candles.  Today, candles are made differently, but the bayberries are still used for the scent.  This Christmas, notice the scent of bayberry candles.

 

I have checked the gardening books for North Carolina, and couldn't find much on Myrica, except that they do grow in this hardiness zone.  Not much sandy soil around here though, maybe that's why we don't see them.  Too bad, cause they are really great for a screen plant:  evergreen, tall growing, and bushy.  And they are so pretty this time of year.  I wonder if the deer would eat them...probably.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!