Gayle Lynn Falkenthal

Let’s Talk Sustainability in San Diego at the 2015 Green Building Conference & Expo

| August 27, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
The Good Earth Plant Company living wall at the SDGE Energy Innovation Center is one of our favorite projects. See it at the USGBC Green Building Expo on September 22.
One of the silver linings of our current drought in San Diego is that it has gotten more people thinking about sustainability and the big picture issues surrounding our use of water and other natural resources. This is a great thing! Thinking leads to talking, and talking leads to doing something. The more we start integrating cutting edge sustainability strategies into San Diego’s buildings, homes, and communities, the more we can improve our well-being. This is something I write about a lot on this blog. In September, I’ll get a chance to talk about it at the third annual San Diego Green Building Conference on Saturday, September 22 at the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center.… Read More

Quiz: Are You Getting Enough Vitamin N – as in Nature?

| August 13, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Are you and especially your kids getting enough vitamin N - as in Nature? Good Earth Plant Company San Diego
If you’re a regular reader of our Good Earth Plant Company blog, you know one of our favorite topics to write about is the connection people have to nature and how much nature influences our well being. We learn more on an almost daily basis how important it is for all of us to integrate the natural world into our urban lives in the workplace and at home. Wouldn’t you like to know how well you’re doing, and what specific things you should do to increase the presence of nature and plants in your life? We found this ingenious little quiz put together by some smart people at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing.… Read More

Water Your Trees Like Mother Nature Would

| August 6, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Water and Water Conservation
Using a bucket as a drip irrigation system works well with trees. Be sure to cover the bucket to prevent accidents with children. Photo: Courtesy Goleta Water District
Two weeks ago, I wrote in this blog about our drought and the importance of preserving our trees. Go ahead and let your lawn turn brown. If you can only afford to water one thing in your yard, water your trees. One of my Good Earth Plants blog readers (thank you!) asked, “What is the best way to water my trees so they get the most water? Is there a trick to it?” We love smart questions and we will answer it here. Since we can’t always count on Mother Nature watering our trees in a Mediterranean climate during a drought, we need to help.… Read More

Getting Rid Of The Fungus Gnats Among Us

| July 30, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
You're not seeing spots, you're seeing fungus gnats on your plants.
House plants bring life and freshness into our homes, transforming dull spaces into vibrant green sanctuaries. But let’s talk about a not-so-joyful aspect of plant parenthood: fungus gnats. Those pesky little insects can turn our indoor oasis into a buzzing nuisance faster than you can say, “Hey, where did all these tiny flies come from?”  Picture this: you’re peacefully admiring your thriving green friends when suddenly, you notice tiny, winged intruders darting around your beloved plants. It’s like a miniature airshow, except you didn’t buy tickets and you certainly didn’t invite these uninvited guests!  Of the six pests (spider mites, mealy bugs, thrip, scale, white fly and fungus gnats) Good Earth Plants deals with, fungus gnats are the biggest pain for plant parents in San Diego.… Read More

California’s Trees Are Worth Saving

| July 22, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
San Diego is losing its Torrey Pines at an alarming rate because of the drought.
Have you noticed changes in the landscaping along San Diego’s freeways? Caltrans has cut a lot of trees down, replacing them with low profile, low water use landscaping. I bet Caltrans is doing this in other areas of California as well. Caltrans isn’t alone. KPBS Radio reported 100 trees have been removed from the Torrey Pines Preserve, which is a lot more than the yearly average. Twelve MILLION trees died in California state forests in 2014 because of the drought. Almost 90,000 of those were in San Diego County. All over the state, our urban and suburban street trees are being removed due to drought, disease, and because they’ve become street hazards raising sidewalks.… Read More

Ripping Out Your Lawn? Consider Foodscaping

| July 18, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Something as simple as a community garden can greatly increase your general happiness daily. Photo: Courtesy Karen Contreras, Urban Plantations
Homeowners in drought-stricken California have gotten serious about making changes in their water consumption. They are ripping out their water-guzzling lawns in record numbers. What they don’t always do is give a lot of thought about what will replace that lawn. So we end up seeing a lot of mulch and rocks as a quick fix. Consider a tastier alternative: Foodscaping. The simplest definition of foodscaping is landscaping with edible plants. It embraces the concept of growing food in place of lawns on private or sometime community property. It’s something in between farming, where you are growing food in a way that maximizes output, and landscaping that is meant to be decorative.… Read More

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

| July 9, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
It's a small step in the right direction toward preserving our planet's resources.
Some days the news is a little hard to take, full of reports about shootings, natural disasters, and drought. I thought I would write about it, but then I realized the topic seemed familiar. Check out this blog post I wrote two years ago this month. Not much has changed, has it? The location of the shootings is different, that is about it. As for our weather, it only seems to get drier and hotter. My observations and my advice then wouldn’t change now either. We know what needs to be done and we have many of the solutions at our fingertips, even more than we did two years ago.… Read More

Honoring Our Founding Environmentalists On July 4

| July 2, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Architecture and Design, Environment, Gardening, Sustainable Living
If you ever visit the Washington D.C. area for the July 4 holiday, you can celebrate Independence Day at Mt. Vernon. Courtesy MountVernon.org
Happy Independence Day from General Washington from Mount Vernon on Vimeo. I recently made a trip to Washington D.C. There is so much to do and see around our nation’s capital. No matter how many times I visit, there is always a new place for me to check out. But there is one place I haven’t been to for a very long time. I joined my family to make a side trip to Mt. Vernon, the 400-acre plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The estate is right on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, and was built in 1757.… Read More

Good Earth Plants Gives Thomas Jefferson School of Law a Natural Makeover

| June 26, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Plantscaping
The fresh new planters are looking great thanks to a little TLC from Good Earth Plants Company.
One of our favorite projects ever stemmed from installing the living wall on the fifth floor of the new Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) downtown. We installed the original living wall in January 2011 and it got rave reviews. Here’s what it looked like then: Because the client was so pleased with our diligent, detail-oriented performance (and our tidiness too), we also got the contract to install all of the built in planters on the fifth and eighth floors (not quite a green roof), ground level and the interior atrium. We performed maintenance for the first year, and then due to budget constraints, the school decided to take the service and care of their plants in-house.… Read More

Getting Schooled about Plants, Nature, Biophilia and Wellness

| June 25, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Architects designing today’s hospitals are merging art and evidence-based research to create environments that promote health and healing. Views of nature, natural light, earth-toned color schemes and the sounds of nature all help patients heal more quickly, and they suffer less from depression or side effects. Starting with a study in 2002 by University of Texas professor Roger Ulrich which we have written about before, there are now over 1,000 studies and they all prove the same thing. Plants and nature promote healing. It’s serious science and it is finally starting to be taken seriously. This week, the San Diego Business Journal published an article about changes in the approach to architectural design of hospitals and other healthcare facilities to put these principles into practice.… Read More