Adopt a Plant
Help Birmingham’s
Front Lawn Thrive!
Adopt a Railroad Park plant for yourself or as a gift!
You or a recipient of your choice will receive a botanical drawing with details of your plant type and where it can be found at the Park, as well as the satisfaction of helping Railroad Park flourish.
Regional plants, wildflowers and trees make Railroad Park colorful, vibrant and lush. The Park has more than 100,000 plants that all serve “double duty” – enhancing the peaceful beauty of the landscape while providing environmental benefits for the surrounding area and natural habitats for various wildlife including birds, lizards, rabbits, honeybees and native pollinators.
When you adopt a plant, you ensure that Railroad Park remains a vibrant greenspace for all to enjoy.
Download our FREE Plant Coloring Sheets
- Pink Muhly Grass At-Home Coloring Sheet
- Rosemary At-Home Coloring Sheet
- Tea Olive At-Home Coloring Sheet
- Sweet Bay Magnolia At-Home Coloring Sheet
Donor Information
Pink Muhly Grass — $35
(Muhlenbergia Capillaris)
Distinctive in its pinkish hue, this gorgeous native grass provides vivid, airy puffballs of color during cooler months. Muhly grass is an ornamental evergreen that is durable, versatile and drought and heat tolerant. After flowering for several weeks, the grass’ resulting seeds are self-sowing. Ladybugs are particularly fond of Muhly Grass.
Where you’ll find this plant at Railroad Park – Pink Muhly grass is easily identifiable by its puffy pink bloom and lines several walking paths in the Park. It can also be found along Park hillsides as it is a natural erosion preventer.
Rosemary — $55
(Rosemary Officinalis “Tuscan Blue”)
This evergreen, fragrant herb provides green year-round at Railroad Park. Clusters of tiny blue blossoms appear in late winter and early spring, covering its stems in small blooms. Rosemary’s aromatic quality helps reduce stress. It is also an important food source for pollinators, like bees, and cold weather hummingbirds.
Where you’ll find this plant at Railroad Park – Rosemary is found in several places throughout the Park. You can spot clusters of Rosemary by the Regions Bank 17th Street Plaza, within the McKinney Capital First Avenue South Strolling Gardens and along Powell Avenue near the lake and Regions Bank amphitheater.
Tea Olive — $75
(Osmanthus Fragrans)
Some of the most sweetly fragrant plants in Southern gardens, these evergreen shrubs have a creamy white flower with an exceptionally long bloom period (often for two months in the fall and even through the spring). Tea olive is an important plant for honey bees and native pollinators who visit its blooms during periods when nectar and pollen are being stored away for the winter.
Where you’ll find this plant at Railroad Park – Tea Olive shrubs can be spotted near the Vulcan Materials Company Foundation 15th Street Plaza, directly across from Regions Field.
Sweet Bay Magnolia — $750
(Magnolia Virginiana “Australis”)
Sweet Bay Magnolia Trees feature porcelain white spring and summer flowers with a sweet, lemony fragrance and airy leaves that flutter in the breeze. These resilient trees provide both a peaceful aesthetic and shade for Park visitors while also offering cover and nesting sites for Park wildlife. Sweet Bay Magnolia is a bird favorite – they like to eat the brightly colored seeds.
Where you’ll find this tree at Railroad Park – Sweet Bay Magnolias can be found on the Robert R. Meyer Foundation 16th Street Plaza and along the stream banks.