Oak Grove is a cool and shady oasis in the center of the Gardens. Included are many varieties of oaks, including species, hybrids and cultivars, creating a small and intimate woodland setting. A majority of the hybrid oaks are the result of work started by Dr. Walter Cottam in Utah in the 1960s. He focused on crossing different species of oaks and was also successful in creating crosses between the two different groups in oaks, the white and black oak. Denver Botanic Gardens along with Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City and the University of California Davis Arboretum now curate collections of these hybrid oaks. Dr. Cottam also established The Nature Conservancy.

Oak Grove also contains a majority of the oaks that are part of the Gardens' North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC) Quercus collection. Denver Botanic Gardens joined 18 other botanical gardens and arboreta from across North America in 2007 to coordinate a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation for oaks and to promote research use of the collections.

We invite you to stroll down Oak Grove's shady path and enjoy the symbiotic relationship between understory plants (including many spring blooming bulbs, rhododendrons and unusual woodland shrubs) and the forest canopy.

For a list of plants in Oak Grove, click here.