The long-awaited renovations at the McKinley Park Rose Garden are nearing completion, and the garden is expected to be open by April – just in time for spring weddings in the park.

“The process feels like it’s taken forever,” University of California Master Gardner Ellie Longanecker said Wednesday.

The rose garden was scheduled to be closed from September to mid-February for renovations, including a new irrigation system, accessible walkways, planter curbs, new signs and handicap-accessible parking spaces near the garden entrance.

The work has been extended until the end of March or early April, Longanecker said, because of problems with the new irrigation system that created delays in completing other work, including more plantings.

Longanecker, a rose specialist and one of the many volunteer coordinators responsible for much of the recent work on the garden, said the project has been on the neighborhood’s radar for a long time.

“We initially brought a proposal to the city for this work to get stared in 2009,” Longanecker said. “For three years it’s been one step forward, two steps back.”

Once the work got under way in September, however, it’s been full steam ahead for city workers and volunteers, she said.

Since 2009, more than 400 new rose bushes have been planted in the garden on the southeast side of McKinley Park.

Thanks to a generous donor, Longanecker said, an additional 465 new rose bushes were recently given to add to the garden.

A “plant-a-thon” to get those additional bushes in the ground was originally planned for Saturday, but it has been postponed. A new date has not been set yet.

Longanecker said the planting day was postponed because the city needs to put in new sod around the planting beds, and it would be easier to get that job out of the way first.

It is also important to make sure the new water system is fully up and running before putting in new plants, she added.

“I’m glad it’s finally coming together,” Longanecker said. “It has taken a very strong volunteer effort.”

Longanecker said volunteer workers – including groups of Americorps volunteers, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department work crew and many neighbors and residents – put in about 1,500 hours of labor working on the garden in the last four weeks alone.

“That’s spading, weeding, pruning and wheelbarrowing in 100 yards of topsoil to spread throughout the garden,” Longanecker said. “(It’s) not easy work at all.”

The effort to refurbish the McKinley Park Rose Garden has been supported by donations including money, gifts of roses and numerous donations of tools and materials.

“It seems to be going well,” East Sacramento resident and garden volunteer Lisa Schmidt said Tuesday. “There’s a lot more to putting in roses than people think.”

Schmidt said that, despite the long wait and all the work that has been necessary, it will be worth it to see the result when the first roses bloom.

“It’ll be like brand new – irrigation, beds, plants, everything,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said Wednesday.

The garden’s new irrigation system will use water more efficiently, Cohn said, and the planter curbs will make the beds easier to maintain.

“The beautiful thing is, we’ve kept the original design (of the garden),” Cohn said. “It’ll really ‘pop’ once spring hits.”

Cohn said that the city didn’t put in the investment it should have in the rose garden over the years.

“Over time, the roses started to lose their vibrancy,” Cohn said. “They were looking sad, really.”

Now, Cohn said, the rose garden will have “new life” and will be more enjoyable for visitors – especially the many couples who have their weddings in the garden each year.

“I’m excited about it,” Cohn said. “We want to save it for future generations and enhance the appearance for everyone who comes to see it for years to come.”

Cohn said a ribbon-cutting and grand opening will be planned when the rose garden is finished, but a specific date has not been set.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.