DDOE will be giving out Eastern Columbine and Calico Aster seeds, pollinator plants that vaguely resemble the parts of the D.C. flag. (Photos by Paul B. Toman and Robert H. Mohlenbrock)

Update 4/20: Mayor Muriel Bowser will be handing out some of the seeds personally. She plans to be outside the Columbia Heights Metro station at 8 a.m.

Original:

Ahead of Earth Day for the second year, the District’s Department of Energy and Environment will be handing out free packets of native plant seeds to support the habitats of pollinators, like bees and butterflies. And this time they come with a subtle, passive-aggressive message: stop and smell the flowers, and then give D.C. statehood.

DDOE’s seeds will blossom into the red, bar-like Eastern Columbine and white, star-like Calico Aster flowers—a floral representation of the D.C. flag.

Aside from the statehood memo (DOEE has taken to calling them “seeds of state”), the flowers’ more realistic purpose is to provide a habitat for the flying critters that pollinate native plants.

“Area residents can play a critical role in ensuring our native pollinator population continues to grow, an integral element of the District’s State Wildlife Action Plan,” DOEE said in a statement. “Even a small backyard garden or balcony with the appropriate native plants can support the pollinators that are crucial to the city’s overall ecosystem health.”

Other native pollinator plants include common milkweed, giant sunflower, wild bergamot, and early goldenrod. But DDOE warns against picking up any old packet of seeds that are advertised as pollinator plants at the gardening store; many of them are invasive in the District, including wisteria, periwinkle, and Spanish blue. See here for a full list of both native and invasive pollinator species.

Staff will be out in all eight wards on Friday between 7:30 and 9 a.m. at the following 17 Metro stations: Columbia Heights, Shaw/Howard, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Cleveland Park, Tenleytown, Takoma, Georgia Ave-Petworth, Brookland, Rode Island Ave-Brentwood, Eastern Market, Potomac Ave, Waterfront, Benning Road, Minnesota Avenue, Anacostia, and Congress Heights.

Each of the free packets contains enough seeds to cover a 6×6 foot area, so dream dreams of giant flower carpets that kind of, sort of look like the D.C. flag.

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