OU is reconstructing the Rose Sharp Rose Garden in a new location east of Ellison Hall after removing the original in preparation for the construction of the new Life Science Laboratories building.
The university broke ground on the building in October, removing the garden to make space for the project. Construction on the new garden began early in the spring semester.
Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Matthew Rom wrote in a Thursday email to OU Daily that Facilities Management decided to include a new fountain in the garden.
“Fountains are a signature feature that enhance the appeal and character of OU’s outdoor spaces. Facilities Management included a fountain in the new Rose Garden design to create a tranquil focal point that encourages relaxation and social interaction,” Rom wrote. “There will be benches incorporated into the Rose Garden similar to the previous design.”
OU Marketing and Communications wrote in an email to OU Daily Feb. 25 that the project is expected to be completed mid-April and that relocation costs will be covered by OU Landscape Services.
Rose Sharp Rose Garden history
Established in 1995, the Rose Sharp Rose Garden has moved multiple times before settling west of Bizzell Memorial Library and north of Ellison Hall in 2004, where it stayed for over two decades.
Carol J. Burr wrote in the summer 2007 publication of Sooner Magazine that the original Rose Sharp Rose Garden was established by David and Molly Shi Boren as a tribute to OU’s former first lady Rose Sharp, who worked alongside OU President Paul Sharp from 1971 to 1978.
“The garden seemed to the Borens the perfect tribute to former first lady Rose Sharp, who shared Mrs. Boren’s love of delicate, colorful roses,” Burr wrote.
At the dedication, Rose Sharp compared roses to the university.
“They both need a good, solid foundation to reach their full potential. Then they need tender, loving care,” Sharp said. “They need to be fed, to be nurtured and to be cultivated. They will thrive with creativity and experimentation. Sometimes both need to be pruned — very carefully. You must know when, where and how much pruning to do.”
The garden was one of the first landscaping changes in Boren’s goals for OU campus beautification.
“As a foreshadowing of the extensive University landscaping that lay just ahead, Molly Boren could not live any place without flowers — lots of flowers,” Burr wrote.
The Borens’ vision for OU campus beautification added more than 350 benches and approximately 20 fountains and sculptures to the Norman campus, as well as over 20,000 trees across the university’s three campuses.
In 2018, David Boren told the Daily about Molly Shi Boren’s involvement in the beautification.
“I’m grateful for Mrs. Boren’s dedication to creating a beautiful, inviting campus for the OU family,” Boren wrote in an email. "Creating a place of beauty in which to work draws out of all of us our best product, and it encourages higher standards.”
The fall 2017 publication of Sooner Magazine reflected on Sharp’s impact on campus following her death at age 99.
“The OU family will greatly miss Rose Sharp,” Boren said in the publication. “As First Lady, she was especially devoted to students and their well-being. She was a truly outstanding member of our university community.”
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton and Madisson Cameron. Ryan Little, Larkin Bock and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
