20th Street's dormant plants poised for a stunning comeback this spring

Filed Under Downtown Birmingham, Front Page, Potential-Proving, Yaysayers

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Winter – not a plant’s best friend…. But the native plants on 20th Street will be back in their full glory soon!

Last August, REV Birmingham partnered with the Alabama Chapter of ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects), the City of Birmingham, and the City Center District Management Corporation (CCDMC) to install new plants on 20th Street North—native species that require less maintenance— to brighten up one of Birmingham’s most traveled streetscapes. 

Now, it’s winter and we must confess the obvious: The plant beds aren’t lush right now—but that’s all by design. 

Read more about the installation in 2020 and see what these native plants look like in full bloom!

20th St. Plants

Six Birmingham landscape architecture firms—Studio A, GMC, Renta, Dix Hite, Golightly and Macnally Land Design—collaborated on the designs for a long-term streetscape plan, which will eventually extend from Linn Park to the tracks.

To give a much-needed refresh to the Birmingham Green’s plant beds, the designers selected a mix of evergreens (plants with leaves or needles that are green year-round) and deciduous (plants that lose their leaves in the winter). Their design places these plants in a way that the leafy balance out the leaf-less in the winter—then in the spring, summer and fall, the plant beds will feel full and colorful once again.

Native plants are well suited to survive in a local ecosystem, including its temperature and rainfall patterns. More specifically, microclimates are created in urban environments because of heat-retaining asphalt, concrete and hardscape elements. The plants chosen for 20th Street are proven native species in the Birmingham area and are used in other urban-style public spaces and private developments.
“These are native plants and for the majority of the year they’ll be beautiful and feel authentic to Birmingham,” said Ben Wieseman, REV Birmingham’s Director of Catalytic Development. “We are excited to see the plants thrive during their first spring on 20th Street North.”

20th Street plants at the end of summer 2020

Learn more about REV's work on 20th Street

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