For over three decades, Doug oversaw the production of garden and outdoor living content for Better Homes and Gardens, Special Interest Publications, BHG.com, and Books. At one point, his group was producing 25 gardening publications per year in addition to the monthly magazine and books.Doug has won a wide range of horticultural awards including the B.Y. Morrison Communication award from the American Horticultural Society.E-commerce websites were in their infancy when Doug helped launch Garden.com. This ground-breaking website provided a wide range of gardening/landscaping content as well as a 20,000 product inventory of plants, tools, and gifts available online.Doug has also appeared on over two dozen radio shows from across the country as well as television appearances on Weekend Today and ABC morning shows.The Better Homes and Gardens Trial Gardens were also conceived and constructed at his home in Iowa. These gardens were used to trial new plants and products and were used for extensive video and photography productions.In addition to gardening content, Doug also oversaw the production of three magazines dedicated to pets and pet ownership. Doug received the Award of Excellence by the Garden Writer’s Association for his book Step-by-Step Successful Gardening.Doug also wrote and starred in a 12 hour online series on home gardening techniquesWorking with Costa Farms, the leading producer of indoor plants, perennials, annuals, and blooming tropicals, Doug was responsible for over 100 plant descriptions on their website, plus approximately 100 blogs, stores, and slideshows for home gardeners.
Out of college, Doug’s first job was working at the State Forest Nursery for the Iowa Conservation Commission. Here, Doug learned how to propagate and grow a wide variety of trees and shrubs for reforestation efforts. In 1976, Doug joined the staff of Better Homes and Gardens as an Associate Editor in gardening and quickly rose to the position of Executive Editor where he spent 3 decades managing the garden content for a variety of product lines. Doug also was involved in the launch of Garden.com, one of the earliest commerce enabled websites on the internet. He spent over 5 years creating content and selecting plants and products that would work for home gardeners. Doug has also played a major role with Costa Farms, providing gardening content for their website and marketing programs. Today, Doug also provides social media content for the Apalachicola Estuarine Research Reserve, a NOAA facility, dedicated to preserving the flora and fauna of the Apalachicola Bay region. Doug is currently President of the Friends of the Reserve organization. Animals have also played a starring role in Doug’s life. At Better Homes and Gardens he spearheaded the launch of three pet focused magazines, and today Doug is the head trainer at the Franklin County Humane Society where he is also a Board member.
