Harold Hillier
Sir Harold George Hillier, CBE VMH (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1985), was an English horticulturist. He joined Hillier Nurseries in 1921 and helped rebuild stocks after World War I. He became a partner in 1930 and, after his father died in 1944, led the firm and grew it into one of Britain’s leading suppliers of northern temperate trees and shrubs. From the 1950s he expanded to collecting seeds and plants from the United States and other parts of the world, donating many endangered species to gardens such as Ventnor Botanic Garden, Wisley Gardens and Westonbirt Arboretum. His own collection, the Hillier Arboretum at Ampfield near Romsey, was given to Hampshire County Council in 1977. He published Hillier's Manual of Trees and Shrubs (1972) and did not publish extensively beyond that. He was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1972 and served as its vice-president in 1974. He was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1954 and received the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1957. Hillier was appointed a CBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1983 for services to horticulture and charitable work. He died in 1985 at the age of 80.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:01 (CET).