Longboat Key Garden Club digs into Bicentennial Park renovation

By Dana Kampa
| 8:00 a.m. May 2, 2025

Former Longboat Key Garden Club president Susan Phillips and current president Melanie Dale thoughtfully map out a phased approach to rebuilding Bicentennial Park from hurricane damage.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

There are plenty of factors to consider when mapping out the foliage for a beloved public park. Is this plant indigenous or invasive? Does that plant tolerate salty surroundings? Which will add a pleasing pop of color for visitors to enjoy, yet are resilient enough to withstand pillaging rabbits, droughts and downpours?

Members of the Longboat Key Garden Club took all those questions and more into account when walking the grounds of Bicentennial Park on April 28 with Public Works officials, setting their priority projects to finish before the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Bicentennial Park hard, but the Longboat Key Garden Club looks forward to getting started on fixing it up.

While seven weeks may seem like plenty of time, they determined they would need to start planting within a few weeks so the flowers can begin to grow and get established before summer's heat comes to bear.

Community members, especially those with the garden club, invested countless hours since last autumn into fundraising for an overhaul of the park, and club president Melanie Dale said they are excited to get started on the renovations.

"We worked really hard to get to this point, where we've raised enough funds to really make an impact on the gardens," Dale said. "Now it's time to get down to it and make it beautiful again."

Melanie Dale, Linda Torcivia, Cathy Ross, Chris Parker, Cindy Keene, Susan Phillips, Mark Kerr and Charlie Mopps plan the park renovations, focusing first on the Butterfly Garden.

The garden near Town Hall took a beating from hurricanes Helene and Milton. High winds stripped leaves from canopies, and floodwaters wreaked havoc on the grounds. Public works employees have already worked hard to clear debris and dead foliage from the park. Now, club members are getting ready to get their hands dirty.

Public works' Mark Kerr and Charlie Mopps helped figure out how to best rearrange the garden beds, create defined walkways and rework the irrigation systems to help the park thrive.

Their top priority is replanting the centrally located Butterfly Garden, which is a major focus of the anticipated butterfly release during the Independence Day event.

Garden club members hope to save and replant native plants in the park, like this scorpiontail.

The garden also holds significance for the club, considering members established it in the 1990s.

Susan Phillips, assistant to the town manager, public information officer and former garden club president, said staff have worked hard to do all the necessary soil testing and remedial works. Now, she looks forward to seeing the park restored to its original beauty, in phases.

She shared newspaper clippings documenting the garden club's signing of a lease with Arvida Corp. in the 1970s for $1 a year.

"The club has been working to improve this piece of land for several years, but the first real face lift did not occur until two years ago, when the Bicentennial Commission donated funds to construct and landscape a berm delineating the area," the 1978 article from "The Islander" reads. "This was dedicated as 'Bicentennial Park' in a July 4th ceremony at town hall."

July 4 remains a significant date for the park. The patriotic celebration is now the biggest event it hosts every year. In fact, Dale has already placed the order for the butterflies to be released this year.

The butterfly release at the Longboat Key Freedom Fest.

The club and town have always worked together to maintain the patch of serenity off Gulf of Mexico Drive. A 1982 issue of the "Longboat Observer" said town officials donated funds to the club to help with purchasing, planting and caring for the park's flora.

Though the town now holds the deed, club members remain involved with tending the Butterfly Garden to this day. They led a previous renovation in 2017, after Hurricane Irma passed.

Gesturing to the bare garden just waiting to be replanted, Phillips said, "This has always been ours, and that's why we chose this park first for the beautification projects."

Charlie Mopps and Mark Kerr discuss irrigation and footpaths for the revitalization of Bicentennial Park.

The eight-member team walked among the beds, deciding where washed shells will carve out more defined footpaths. Fast-growing firebush shrubs will most likely frame the corners of the park. The club also plans to plant a succulent garden with different types of agave, cacti and aloe near the Butterfly Garden.

Guided by the expertise of plant aficionado Cindy Keene and "The Florida Friendly Landscaping Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design," members firmed up their master plan.

Members also hope to transplant native species already growing in the park, like scorpion-tail. For visual interest, they also debated planting paintbrush, beach daisies and other pollinator-friendly flowers.

"All it takes is a little bit of water to get started," Dale said

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.