LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The roses and special greenery for the Garland of Roses that will be presented to the winner of Kentucky Derby 149 are hand-stitched to the garland, something that Kroger has been doing since 1987. 

Workers and volunteers from Kroger pulled 6,000 Freedom Roses that arrived from Colombia this week. They crafted the garland at a secret location before taking them to the Kroger at 12501 Shelbyville Road in Middletown on Friday.

The rose garland, now synonymous with the Kentucky Derby, is the source of the nickname "Run for the Roses®" and has a history almost as long as the Derby itself.

Each year, a garland of more than 400 red roses is sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the Twin Spires and number of the race's current renewal on the other. Each garland is also adorned with a "crown" of roses, green fern and ribbon. The "crown," a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Derby Winner's Circle.

The Kroger Company has been crafting the garland for the Kentucky Derby since 1987 in one of its local stores for the public to view on Derby Eve.

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It takes about 465 roses for the garland. Allison Gousha is the Kroger Derby Coordinator and said she likes to select 1,000 roses to pick from. Then, 2,000 more roses will be used for the Winner's Circle. 

The process starts at a climate-controlled Kroger warehouse, where about a dozen women unwrapped, sorted and prepared the roses. Meanwhile, a few others hand tied bundles of greenery to the base of the garland. 

The system is win-place-show: the best roses of a similar shade of red and size will be marked with blue stakes indicating they will be used on the garland. The next best roses are marked with yellow stakes and will be slated for the Derby Winner's Circle. Finally, roses marked with a white stake won't go to Churchill Downs, but will be donated to area hospitals and nursing homes.

Gousha said there are several types of greenery along with the roses for the garland. 

"We use Italian Ruscus, Israeli Ruscus, Boxwood, and then we finish it off with Gardenia leaves that are hand-wired," Gousha said. "So it took about 180 hours to put all this together. Now, we'll start attaching it to the actual garland."

Gousha said workers will continue making sure the garland is worthy of a champion all the way up until race time, admitting an overcast cool day is best for the flowers.

"Those roses on the garland and in the Winner's Circle, we still want them to be beautiful when it's time for the race at 6 o'clock, or 6:30," Gousha said. "We'll water them throughout the day."

Gousha said the team expected to finish the initial preparations around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Kroger had the snipped roses and garland base sent to the Middletown Kroger on Shelbyville Road.

IMAGES | Kroger workers make final preparations for Derby winner's Garland of Roses

Workers and volunteers there then sewed the roses to the garland on Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the public was invited to watch. The team also prepared bags of rose petals to give to people who come.

"Definitely the best trophy in the world to win, and who wouldn't want to win this and it's one-of-a-kind," Gousha said.

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