Gayle Lynn Falkenthal

Let’s Make San Diego A Biophilia Hub

| March 2, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Leaders from 40 of the best large gardens in North America came to San Diego last week for the Directors of Large Gardens Conference at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas. When I opened my San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday, I was glad to see an article about the meeting by reporter Phil Diehl, and I especially loved the headline:  “Stressed? You may need some nature.” Right up my alley. It’s worth reading. As many good things as the article covered, there were so many other great topics it couldn’t fit in. Many are the things we write about here in this blog: biophilia, bioinspiration, biomimicry, author Richard Louv’s concept of “nature deficit disorder,” the new Wellbeing Standards – I could go on.… Read More

Explore What’s New at Good Earth Plant Company’s Spring Open House

| February 29, 2016 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
Come tour our Living Lab at the Good Earth Plant Company Spring 2016 Open House on May 6.
You’re invited to come see what Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings has to offer at our Spring Open House and Plant Sale on Friday, May 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. See the latest green roof and living wall technology, check out edible gardens, a small aquaponic systems and exciting new innovations at our living lab in Kearny Mesa. Ask questions and see if you can stump our experts! We also offer the opportunity to purchase nursery grade plants and pots at unbelievably discounted prices. There is no cost, but please RSVP to alexa@goodearthplants.com Everyone on our guest list will receive a free plant at the door.… Read More

Sharing My Super Power With You

| February 25, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Plantscaping
Jim Mumford, AKA the Eco-Warrior Photoshop artwork by Theodore Mumford
Mary Golden of the Golden Group recently interviewed me for a Plantscaping industry blog, and the result was published earlier this week. It gave me an opportunity to talk about some of my favorite topics, the same ones I write about here: Biophilia, innovations in living walls like the spectacular wall in the Birmingham, Alabama airport, and the future of our business. Mary asked me a question I didn’t expect: What is your super power? I gave her this answer: “It’s a combination – being engaged in; my industry, the community, developers, architects and designers, paying attention, watching for opportunity and perseverance.… Read More

Good Earth Plants’ Ten Most Popular Blog Topics

| February 18, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Find out which of our nearly 200 Good Earth Plant Company blog posts made our Top Ten List.
When you are in business it’s vital to listen to feedback from your clients to learn what’s working, what’s not working, and where you can improve. Let me tell you, sometimes it can be painful! But it is necessary. When I first started as a florist in the Plantscaping industry nearly four decades ago, we didn’t have any posts, tweets, snaps or chats to help us gather feedback. We had to get it the old fashioned way – by actually talking to people. In person! I won’t claim I walked several miles uphill through the snow to do it. Today, there is no excuse for anyone in business not to make at least a minimum effort to gather feedback and use it to improve products and services.… Read More

Nature’s Answers: Cockroaches to the Rescue!

| February 11, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants
This super robotic roach is grabbing headlines around the world. It's a perfect example of the power of biomimicry to solve our greatest challenges. Photo: Courtesy UC Berkeley
Nobody loves cockroaches, except another cockroach. But you have to admire how tough they are. We joke about roaches being able to survive a nuclear blast. Who wouldn’t consider this the ultimate survival skill? Scientists at the University of California Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Laboratory made news this week with reports about their work with the X2-VelociRoACH, a robotic cockroach designed for its ability to nimbly navigate difficult terrain. These robots could be outfitted with small cameras and GPS to help locate victims in collapsed buildings after earthquakes and in other similar situations too dangerous to send in people or search dogs.… Read More

Super Bowl 50 is Super Eco-Friendly

| February 4, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls
Standard compliant structures in the world. Photo: Courtesy Levi's Stadium website
Super Bowl 50 is just days away. Are you rooting for the Broncos or the Panthers? Or are you tuning in for the commercials, not the game? Looking forward to Coldplay and Beyonce? I’m excited about Super Bowl 50 because it is taking place in the first ever professional football stadium to be LEED Gold certified. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California is the most eco-friendly, sustainable stadium in the world today. Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, is a typical multi-purpose modern stadium that can host all sorts of events. What sets it apart starts at the top: the NRG Solar Terrace green roof on the west side of the stadium.… Read More

Tell Your Stress to Take a Walk in the Woods

| January 28, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Ward off the post-holiday blues or any kind of stress with Shinrin-yoku, the art of forest walking. Photo: Courtesy Wikipedia
We are nearly a month into 2016 already and the holidays seem like a distant memory. Many people are now dealing with the fallout from the holidays. We ate way too much We spent way too much. We overindulged in so many ways I won’t make you feel any worse by listing them all here. These things contribute to a mental hangover in January. Combine it with winter weather (yes, even in San Diego) and the negative effects of our poor planning and overspending sets in. Promising to practice moderation is fine for next year, but what can we do about all this stress now?… Read More

Dig In and Support Urban Gardening in San Diego

| January 20, 2016 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Sustainable Living
While I’m on the road at the annual Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition in Florida, I learned about a proposal making its way through the approval process at the City of San Diego. Yes, stop the presses: a government idea I’m excited about! The San Diego City Council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee took an important step Wednesday at its meeting to establish Urban Agricultural Incentive Zones in the City of San Diego. These zones were given a green light by California state legislation passed in 2014. Now it’s up to individual cities and counties to decide whether they want to allow them in their areas.… Read More

Even San Diegans Get The Winter Blues – How to Cope

| January 14, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
After suffering through several years of drought, the arrival of rain thanks to El Nino storms was welcome. Even with some flooding problems, we will benefit in the long run from watering out trees without irrigation, replenishing our reservoirs and groundwater. But I didn’t realize just how much the gray gloomy weather had gotten to me until the sun came back out. When it hit 70 degrees, it felt more like an 80 degree summer day. People were back in their shorts and flip flops, even if it was only for a few hours. Feeling the blues when the days grow shorter isn’t in your imagination.… Read More

Do Your Part to Stop Stormwater Pollution

| January 7, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
El Nino has arrived in San Diego, and with it a lot of stormwater runoff polluting our waterways and ocean.
Just a few months ago, the Good Earth Plant Company blog was full of advice about surviving our Southern California drought. Now here we are in 2016, and our first blog post of the year is about too much rain. The anticipated El Niño winter rainstorms have hit our area. While we are all grateful to get some relief from our drought, watching our reservoirs fill back up and enjoying the sight of snow in our Laguna Mountains, we also have to be concerned about managing the negative effects of all this water, especially stormwater pollution. Stormwater runoff is the single biggest contributor to poor water quality in the ocean off San Diego.… Read More