Several years ago during a large family gathering, kith and kin complimented the handsome floral centerpieces I’d arranged and placed on each dining table and on the library’s large central coffee table. My eldest daughter commented with a chuckle, “Mom always buys the cheapest flowers.” Many of us laughed along, but several raised their eyebrows at what seemed a barb.
Her words stung me a little, I admit. I felt embarrassed, called out among the people I love most and whose esteem means so much to me. Was her observation a mildly insulting truth? Were these cheap flowers emblems of a beggarly nature obvious to everyone else, but hidden from me? After a moment, I realized she was correct: I do buy the cheapest and most long-lasting blooms, often supplementing the store-bought bouquets with greenery from the yard or cuttings from the woods across the way.
henbit: the enchanted bugle
For our January-February birthdays gathering this year, I bought blush, fuchsia, and coral-colored carnations, offsetting their rosy charm with greens from my front flower beds, namely weeds called Henbit (Lamium Amplexicaule). The Roundup folks say that each Henbit plant
. . . can produce a whopping 2,000 seeds that can easily take root and make your life miserable if you don’t do something about it. Don’t worry, though – we can tell you just what you need to do to control Henbit.
It’s “crucial,” they caution, “to kill Henbit before it flowers,” for if the homeowner’s vigilance wanes, Henbit may take over the entire yard.1
In spite of such admonitions, savvy peasants embrace Henbit, for it’s a remarkable weed. Henbit is a winter bloomer that supports early pollinators venturing out on sunny winter days. It is especially important to honey bees needing sustenance during the cold winter months.2 3 Henbit also attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife, and is a favorite delicacy of hens—hence its common name.
Among magical folk, Henbit is known as Fairy Horn because its flowers can be blown like tiny bugles. It is said that if one blows the enchanted bugle at just the right time, the Queen of Fairies may appear and grant the bugler a wish.4
On the practical side, every part of Henbit is edible and safe for humans and household pets. It’s nutritious, too, being high in iron, vitamins, and fiber. It’s a natural antihistamine and can be eaten raw in salads and wraps, or used in soups and smoothies. Or worn behind your ear. Or used in a bouquet like the one I arranged for my clan a few weeks ago.
The weeds we so captiously define, dismiss, or condemn may well be the most nurturing, serviceable, and adaptable. I think the Henbit’s frilly leaves were a perfect complement to the curly-petaled carnations, and felt particularly grateful that they presented themselves with a flagrantly honest charm just outside my front door.
I love all the beauty in our world—the simple and commonplace, and the rare and profound. There’s something about the Henbit, though, that speaks to me about being a small thing with great love.5
endnotes
- Roundup.com. “What is Henbit and How Do I Control It?” ↩︎
- Burlew, Rusty. “Honeybee or honey bee? Which is correct?” Honey Bee Suite, 2013. ↩︎
- Bees are foraging for pollen and nectar to stay alive and Henbit supplies them with much needed substance. It continues to bloom into spring and will support bumble bees, honey bees, long-tongued bees, butterflies as well as those early hummingbirds that show up in our garden mid-March. The foliage is also eaten by voles and box turtles. Now, that’s quite a variety of wildlife supported by this purple “weed!” Karin, in “A Little Bit of Henbit.” Southern Meadows, 2015. ↩︎
- Blue Ridge Botanic. “Secret Stories of the Weeds: Henbit.” YouTube, 2023. ↩︎
- Attributed to Mother Teresa. “There are no great things, only small things with great love,” or “We can do no great things–only small things with great love.” ↩︎
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