This week, people driving down Monroe Street might have noticed an alarming sight: city landscaping employees pulling up rose bushes at the Vicksburg Memorial Rose Garden.

Residents should not be worried, however: The rose garden isn’t going away, and it won’t be left bare. Instead, the City of Vicksburg on Monday allocated funds for a fresh start for the rose garden. This “rose garden re-do” is a project that’s much-needed, both as a way to honor service members killed in action, as well as a way to keep Vicksburg beautiful.

The layout of the garden, spanning two esplanades on Monroe Street between Crawford and South streets, is stunning. Nestled in the Uptown Vicksburg Historic District, the park offers a calming place to meditate or simply reflect on the sacrifices our men and women in arms have made.

The garden contains the slow-flowing Bloom Fountain, erected in 1927, as well as old and new monuments honoring those who died in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.

However, with the garden’s years-old rose bushes growing unruly and the weeds creeping in, the garden wasn’t looking its best for quite some time — not to mention that roses aren’t the easiest flowers to care for.

By embarking on this new project, the Memorial Rose Garden will improve the footprint of the Uptown Vicksburg Historic District and preserve the memorials for generations to come.

Thank you to the city of Vicksburg’s landscaping department and Rick Daughtry, head of parks and recreation maintenance for the city, for taking the time to improve a meaningful site for all of Vicksburg to enjoy.

For those with a special attachment to the rose bushes, or simply those with a green thumb, the cuttings are still lining the perimeter of the garden and are available for the taking. Just make sure you leave the site better than you found it.