Join us, as we venture into the world of annuals and perennials with horticulture expert Dr. Douglas Needham. He will be the OHS Fall Forum speaker on September 26, 2026, at 2:00 PM, in the Education Building, at The Botanic Garden in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The main garden entrance is off of Hwy. 51.
Dr. Needham has enjoyed growing flowering plants since he was a child, and that passion continues throughout retirement. He grows hundreds of orchids in cool and warm glasshouses, he designs and cultivates English-inspired perennial borders, and he is restoring a native prairie. Dr. Needham enjoys sharing his passion for growing plants with others through workshops, presentations, tours, and consulting.
Douglas Needham earned his BS in Biological Sciences in 1977 and MS and PhD in Horticultural Plant Breeding and Genetics in 1984 and 1989, respectively, from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Dr. Needham joined the faculty at Oklahoma State University in 1989, where he was Professor of Floriculture (75% teaching / 25% extension) in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture through June 2007.
He joined Longwood Gardens in July 2007, serving as Vice President, Education, through his retirement in July 2017. His professional objective is “to educate and foster professional development of others.”
At the national level, Dr. Needham chaired a variety of committees for the American Society for Horticultural Science and served all three offices, including that of President twice, of Pi Alpha Xi—the Honor Society for Horticulture. Additionally, he served as chair of the Education Professional Section and the Technology & Innovation Professional Section of the American Public Gardens Association. He is a founding partner of Seed Your Future, the national movement to promote horticulture and inspire people to pursue careers working with plants.
Internationally, Dr. Needham was a founding partner of the HORTECUS Consortium, coordinating study abroad for horticulture students among three US universities and four EU universities, and he was a member of The Royal Horticultural Society’s Bursaries Committee Forum for the RHS/GCA Interchange Fellowship. Dr. Needham was the responsible officer for Longwood’s J-1 visa programs and bilateral staff and student exchanges between Longwood and its partner gardens around the world. He was founding partner and chief administrator of the Great Gardens of the World TRIAD Fellowship among Hidcote, UK; Kiseki No Hoshi, Japan; and Longwood, US.
Dr. Needham is passionate about teaching and learning, and he has presented workshops and symposia on engaging students through problem-based learning, experiential project-based learning, and online learning. He received numerous teaching awards during his career, including the USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences, NACTA Southern Region Outstanding Teacher, ASHS Southern Region L.M. Ware Distinguished Teacher, and OSU Regents’ Distinguished Teacher. Additionally, he was recognized as Distinguished Agriculture Alumnus by Purdue University in 2017, and he was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England, UK, in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture.
Jim Wooly will provide a HOLIDAY DECORATION WORKSHOP. You learn a lot from this hands-on workshop with a true expert on flower arrangements and decorations.
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Oklahoma Horticultural SocietyP.O. Box 75425Oklahoma City, OK 73147
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