KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If you look closely, you can spot them fluttering and buzzing around the gardens; pollinators.
"We're beginning to see not only monarchs but other butterflies and pollinators starting to come to that area of the garden," Interim Director James Newburn said, referring to a new garden called the 'Monarch Waystation.'
The garden was planted three months ago as a way to attract butterflies on their migration south. They're just now starting to reap some of the rewards.
"As it matures, we're just going to have more blooming. We're going to have more opportunities for our pollinator friends to visit. We're going to have more food for them. So, I think it will just increase the numbers of pollinators," Newburn said.
This time of year though, bees and butterflies are just about everywhere you look at the UT Gardens.
" The garden is literally at its peak right now," Newburn said.
Newburn said he's noticing many more visitors than past years.
"As I'm talking to them, I'm finding that they're here for relaxation, for rejuvenation, and for just respite. So, they're coming here just to get away from some of the stresses that we're all experiencing right now," Newburn said.
He hopes some of the new visitors will become new members, and UT Gardens is currently hosting a membership drive ahead of its upcoming plant sale at the end of the month.
"The plant sales of the UT gardens are some of our biggest fundraisers. As I said, we've noticed a lot of visitorship increase and it takes a lot to run a garden this size, that's this beautiful," Newburn said.