Gibbs Gardens Invites Endangered Monarch Butterflies for Lunch
By Barbara Schneider, Gibbs Gardens
Photos courtesy of Gibbs Garden
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—the world’s most comprehensive inventory of biological species’ global status—added the migratory monarch butterfly to its endangered list on July 21, 2022. Migratory monarch population has shrunk by between 22% and 72% over the past decade, according to IUNC, with a 26% decline just in 2021.
Jim Gibbs, owner/developer of Gibbs Gardens—concerned about the increased threat of extinction for these delicate creatures—decided to do something more to help. In fall 2021, Gibbs expanded his Wildflower Meadow from three to 15 acres—including a special butterfly garden—to provide more habitat within Gibbs Gardens for migratory monarchs.
Habitat destruction is one of the biggest dangers facing migratory monarchs. Gibbs Gardens vast size—376 acres—and its totally natural environment in a rural area of north Georgia, create a uniquely protected habitat for butterflies. The Wildflower Meadow was designed with shrubs as well as small and large trees to provide safe places for butterflies to explore and rest at night.
Visitors to Gibbs Gardens took these amazing photos in fall when the migratory monarchs stopped at the Wildflower Meadow’s butterfly garden on their trip south to Southwest Mexico.
Visitors to Gibbs Gardens took these amazing photos in fall when the migratory monarchs stopped at the Wildflower Meadow’s butterfly garden on their trip south to Southwest Mexico.
Winter in Mexico
Each year the monarchs migrate approximately 2,485 miles from their summer breeding grounds in Canada and New England, traveling south along the east coast then across north Georgia as the migration path veers west toward Texas and Mexico.
Every day these monarch butterflies need to find a safe place with the right food to fuel their migration. Flying up to two miles above the earth at about five miles an hour, monarchs travel from 25 to 100 miles a day—and they don’t pack a lunch. Monarchs are “specialist” eaters—they only eat certain plants—and they need to be able to find them from 11,000 feet up.
“Color attracts the monarch butterflies, luring them down lower to find food sources,” said Gibbs. “This June, to be ready for the monarchs, we planted 15 acres of colorful Cosmos in great wide swaths that wind through the gardens.” The effect—similar to highway drivers noticing a colorful billboard—catches the monarchs’ attention and draws them down to the garden.
The acres of blooming flowers in bright, vivid colors create a vibrant welcome mat to greet the monarchs. To develop this habitat, Gibbs began in June planting seeds: Cosmos sulphereus with orange and yellow blooms; Cosmos bipinnatus with blooms in shades of pink, red, and white; California Giants Mix (zinnias) with large 4-6” multicolor blooms; and Lilliput Mix (zinnias) with semi-dwarf multicolor blooms. Milkweed varieties are planted around the edges of the butterfly garden.
Jim Gibbs planted 15 acres of Cosmos this June, in his expanded butterfly garden.
These brightly colored flowers attract the butterflies flying high on their way to Mexico
There are several large beds of Wildflower Mix in the Wildflower Meadow with Lance-leaved Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Narrow-leaved Sunflower, Large-flower Tickseed, Spotted Beebalm, Black-eyed Susan, Goldenmane Tickseed, Purple Coneflower, and Bur-Marigold flowers.
Cosmos Sulphur Bright-Light mix.
The butterfly garden has already attracted Eastern Black Swallowtail and Yellow Swallowtail butterflies. Monarch butterflies should begin arriving in September through October as eastern and northern migratory monarchs travel toward their wintering destination. They arrive in southwestern Mexico by November.
Around April of next year, the migratory monarchs will reverse the process and head north to breed. Jim Gibbs will be ready for them. On November 15, he will start from scratch clearing out the fall flowers and begin planting poppies, larkspur, milkweed and other monarch delicacies for their return trip in April 2025.
Honored with the National Garden Clubs’ Award of Excellence, Gibbs Gardens was named one of the “Thirteen Best Botanical Gardens in America,” “2020 Best American Botanical Gardens,” one of the “World’s 10 Best Places to See Daffodils,” a top garden in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Explore Georgia.
By Laura Root
Photos courtesy of Jackson & Perkins
Gardeners are always thinking ahead to the next season or the next year. And, fall is the ideal time to think about spring. Flowering shrubs, perennials and spring bulbs are great choices.
Click here for an interesting article about spring bulbs.
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