Catch the monarch migration at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground

This weekend is probably a great one if you're looking to head up to like the North Georgia mountains. Absolutely. So apparently monarch butterflies are doing their annual migration right now and Maria Guzman is live in Ball Ground with all the details and Maria you couldn't pick a better day to be up there because it looks beautiful behind you and I'm sure you're just enjoying the weather. It's beautiful, it's sunny and it's getting warm which means a lot of these monarchs are waking up and they're flying around this beautiful garden and getting some energy. I'm going to go ahead and put my camera to show you guys where I am and also introduce you to Eric. He works here at Gibbs Garden. Eric, it is a beautiful day here, a beautiful garden. All these flowers here, they're so bright, but they have a reason, a purpose, why they're so bright and colorful. Yeah, so the monarchs are flying about two miles up in the air as they're making their migration. And so it's important that we plant a lot of really bright, colorful flowers that attract them down. And they love these bright yellows, so the lantana here is one that they really, really like. You can see these tall canna lilies is another one that they really like. In the wildflower meadow, really the star of the show as far as nectar-producing plants go are the cosmos and the zinnia. So the butterflies are really looking for a great source of nectar. They're basically refueling for their flight and also trying to store up energy for the winter. So butterflies, they rely on nectar, but bees rely on pollen. So talk to me about the difference between both because they all come from a flower. Right. And so the pollen is going to be the anthers. That's the male part of the plant. And the bees collect that on their legs. They also spread it around from flower to flower, which is why they're such great pollinators. With the butterflies, they're really looking for the sugar in the flower. They're looking for that nectar, and so it's basically just the food that they need. Most of the monarchs that are coming through the gardens will only be here for a day or so, and then they continue their migratory path, and so every day they have to find food. And that's why Jim really focused on the wildflower garden being a haven for monarch butterflies. Also, bees love it, birds love it. It's one of the most alive gardens that you'll find anywhere. It's 15 acres in bloom. But really, every part of Gibbs Gardens is thinking about pollinators. It's also thinking about what the monarchs need for their 3,000-mile journey. I know we kind of described it as like a buffet, right, or a gas station for a lot of these butterflies as they make their 3,000-mile journey. aside from the monarchs you guys are also in full swing as we get those as we get to those peak times where the trees start changing colors so once the public start they want to see the beautiful change of colors yeah my recommendation would be come this weekend to see the front edge of it and then also as we get into around November 7th through the 14th i'd say about that 7 to 10 day window of time is what peak fall color is going to be but Jim has planted the gardens you know there are thousands and thousands of maples and many other plants with beautiful fall color it all is happening in a succession so it was very thoughtfully planned out to where any time from now this weekend is going to be beautiful Maria you picked an amazing day to show up but even right now it looks amazing but if you really want to get the peak of the deepest reds and crimsons and dark oranges, you know, that's going to be starting probably closer to November 6th or so. Awesome. So it sounds like right now is the perfect time if you want to see the monarchs and these beautiful gardens here and also to see just kind of the start before all the trees start to change colors. And then Joe's last question, if somebody wants to come, what do they need to know before arriving to Gibbs Gardens? Bring your camera. We've also got a wonderful cafe on site, So you have a place to grab a bite to eat. We open at 9 o'clock in the morning, and it goes until 4 Tuesdays through Sunday. And, yeah, plan to spend 4 to 5 hours so you get to see everything. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I'll send things back to you guys from Gibbs Gardens. Yeah, Maria, it's so nice to get a look around there. And, honestly, he was right. You couldn't have picked a better day to be up there. So we'll be checking in with you throughout the afternoon. Maria Guzman up in Ball Ground. Thanks so much.