Aubrey C. Hildreth Papers

Aubrey C. (A.C.) Hildreth was a national and international authority on horticulture. Much of his professional work was in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain region where he was interested in developing better horticulture in the high, dry, cold, and bright climates. He was director of Denver Botanic Gardens where his main responsibilities were in educating the public on botany horticulture and conducting research to create new knowledge about plants. When Dr. Hildreth became director of Denver Botanic Gardens in 1959, he instituted courses on trees, house plants, and other botany related subjects that would interest the residents. He was very interested in making plant information readily available to the public, personally guiding visiting groups through the grounds and teaching volunteers how to be guides. Dr. Hildreth has also written many publications on the subject of botany and horticulture. One of his biggest contributions to Denver Botanic Gardens was in creating the Children’s Gardens and the summer program where children each received a plot to cultivate for the summer.