Bryant Park Tree Circle survives uprooting effort, gets new leafy neighbors
Nine green buttonwoods have been planted next to a circle of silver buttonwoods in downtown Lake Worth Beach waterfront park
After surviving an elected official’s uprooting effort, the new Bryant Park tree circle welcomed some new leafy neighbors on Monday.
Nine green buttonwood trees were planted in the northeast corner of the downtown waterfront park, along and next to the 60-foot-diameter circle of silver buttonwoods that was installed Oct. 27.
“The new trees just emphasize how beautiful the contrasting colors are,’’ said Tracy Rosof Petersen, a founding member of Neighbors Encouraging Shade Trees, a citizens group that partnered with the city on the project.
An Amelia Smarty Plants crew installed the green buttonwoods this morning, just six days after a unanimous City Commission lifted a moratorium on new plantings in city parks.
The moratorium was enacted Nov. 4 when Commissioner Anthony Segrich voiced concerns that the tree circle, part of a broader $50,000 shade project paid for by the city, was installed without the commission’s approval and with minimal public input.
He also said he wanted the tree circle moved to another spot in the park that won’t interfere with events like car shows, the Little Screams halloween party, the Midnight Sun Festival’s wife-carrying race.
“I don’t want to say ‘tear it out’ at all,’’ said Commissioner Mimi May, who shared some of Segrich’s concerns. “I also don’t want it to prohibit us from doing stuff.’’
The trees in the circle are 12 feet apart and in the far northeast corner of the park, which should still leave plenty of space for events, Stuart Sword, assistant director of Leisure Services, told the commission Dec. 2.
Mayor Betty Resch disagreed with Segrich’s contention that the city never approved the circle. She accused him of micromanaging.
But she agreed to require that all future tree plantings get commission approval. The unanimous commission Dec. 2 also gave the green light to the green buttonwoods, which complete the second phase of NEST’s shade project.
The third phase, scheduled for January and February, will plant 27 trees on the south end of the park near the playground.
The first phase, 17 green buttonwoods and 10 flowering calophyllums, was installed along the walkway south of the water treatment plant in late 2024 and early 2025.
So far, the tree circle has received mostly positive reviews. It hosted its first impromptu event early last month when participants in the mayor’s Light up the Bridge procession entered the circle after sunset with their colored light sticks and flashlights.
“I have to tell you it was a pretty magical moment,’’ Resch said. “It was beautiful.’’
Some park regulars already use the circle for meditative walks, Rosof-Petersen said. And Lawrence Cassenti, the general manager of the Gulfstream Hotel across the park’s northwest end, has suggested the circle be used for wedding ceremonies.
The trees in the circle are each about 6 feet high. In about 18 months, their canopies will start touching each other and start to form a circular silver arch.
“It’s going to be so beautiful once the trees mature,’’ said NEST’s Gael Silverblatt.