Gardening Angel will be watering the trees in today but starting tomorrow the watering responsibility will be yours. Update: the removal of the 8 Simpsons Stopper and replacement with 5 Japanese Blueberry and 3 Bulnesia will be completed today at 40 Galt Ocean Mile. On June 4, Williams sent Jors and Galt Mile officials the following message: When widespread resident feedback disparaged the stunted “shrub-like appearance” of the Simpson’s Stoppers, Jors and Williams agreed to its elimination as a candidate.
On April 5, 2018, twenty-six unsalvageable Silver Buttonwoods (suffering desiccation or terminal storm damage) adjacent to Ocean Sky, Ocean Club, Ocean Summit, Playa del Mar and Galt Ocean Club were replaced with one of three salt and wind tolerant tree species - a multi-trunk variety of Simpson’s Stopper, Bulnesia or Japanese Blueberry. Williams is spearheading the transformation. With City Commissioner Heather Moraitis providing political support, Parks Department Operations Superintendent Mark Almy, Parks Supervisor William McDonough, and Fort Lauderdale Urban Forester Mark Williams parsed input from Galt Mile officials and block maintenance liaison John Jors to assemble the plan. The tree-slicing orgy (and a mechanized root ball removal a few days later) was step one in a plan to immerse the Galt Mile in attractive, tough, environmentally sound landscaping. JOn March 1, 2018, a City of Fort Lauderdale Park’s Department crew drove along Galt Ocean Drive, stopping briefly to cut certain pre-marked trees in half.