Go Green on St. Patrick’s Day – and Every Day

| March 13, 2019 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
You don’t have to be Irish (or part Irish like me) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday, March 17. We love any occasion focusing on things that are green! It’s more likely than not you possess some Irish heritage as part of your ethnic DNA. In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in Cork, Ireland and said “Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.” Ireland has a long history of emigration. If you were a Catholic or a Protestant from any denomination outside the Church of England, laws were harsh and the persecution was real and often fatal.… Read More

Spring Into Action: Daylight Saving Time 2019 Is Here

| March 6, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Your indoor plants might not know it's time to change the clocks to Daylight Saving Time this weekend, but they know it's spring. Photo: Riala/PixabayCC
We say days are “growing longer” when we start getting more minutes of sunshine each day. Wouldn’t it be nice if that meant we got more than 24 hours in a day? I’d even take a secret eighth day a week no one else knows about. With the generous amount of rain we’ve experienced in California and in San Diego County, it’s been harder to tell there are more daytime minutes. Maybe it’s the reason why it’s such a surprise to realize we switch to Daylight Saving Time for 2019 this weekend – Sunday, March 10.  Before going to bed on Saturday night, move your clocks forward one hour.… Read More

Plant A Weed and Save the Monarchs

| February 27, 2019 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The western California monarch is in danger of extinction. Good Earth Plant Company provides critical milkweed habitat and we're thrilled to see it working. Photo: Erin Lindley
Recently a visitor to Good Earth Plant Company asked me “Hey, what’s that tall plant growing on your green roof?” I told her it was milkweed. What I didn’t say is that it might be the most important plant on the entire green roof. The Western monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable insects in the world. It is called “the ambassador of nature.” In coastal California cities where migrating monarch butterflies have traditionally spent their winters like Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara, there is a whole tourism industry built around the butterflies. Ten million monarch butterflies used to spend the winter in California during the 1980s, according to estimates.… Read More

Five Reasons Plants Improve Your Bottom Line

| February 20, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Humble office plants like this desk terrarium can make you more productive and healthier at work. Photo: Stocksnap/Creative Commons
Plants have never been hotter. The humble indoor plant is suddenly a design trend. We have thousands of people calling themselves “plant parents” who collect and cherish house plants. The trend is creeping its way into more workplaces, too. The benefits of plants in the workplace is something we’re passionate about at Good Earth Plant Company. We’d like more businesses to get passionate about it, too. We know there is one thing ALL businesses are passionate about: making money. Let’s face it, we’re all working hard to earn a good living so we can live well and indulge our interests. So if we told you adding plants is good for your business and will help you make more money, would we get your attention?… Read More

Our Valentine’s Day Love Letter To Plants

| February 14, 2019 | Categories: Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Plants like these Sweetheart Hoya cuttings make people happy. Science proves it! Photo: Wikimedia
Happy Valentine’s Day (or as some of you refer to it, Singles Appreciation Day). It’s a day to take time and appreciate the love in your life. Why limit this to people? At Good Earth Plant Company, we’ve had a love affair with plants for more than four decades. This is a relationship built to last the test of time. More and more people agree with us. Growing numbers of people, especially among the Millennial generation, are bringing plants into their homes and caring for them. For many people, plants have become more like pets than just decoration. We love you for it!… Read More

Do These Six Things to Keep Indoor Plants Healthy During Winter

| February 6, 2019 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Even indoor plants feel the change of seasons. Photo: Skitterphoto - Creative Commons License
Winter has hit San Diego along with the rest of the U.S. No polar vortex here, thank goodness, but we know it’s winter without needed snow on the ground or freezing daytime temperatures. We feel the change of seasons even if we don’t have to shovel driveways or scrape windshields. Plants feel the change of seasons, too – even your indoor plants. Your container plants at home and in the office grow in the spring and summer and go dormant in the winter just like their outdoor cousins. During these cooler months, conditions change inside where your indoor plants live. Less sun comes through your windows.… Read More

Ten Freshest Plantscaping Trends for 2019

| January 31, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Moss Walls, Plantscaping
After all the New Year celebrations are over, I still have something to look forward to every year: the annual Tropical Plant Industry Expo in Florida. It’s become a tradition for me to start the year meeting with my Plantscaping industry colleagues from 45 states and 37 different countries, and learning about the latest trends and products I can offer to our clients at Good Earth Plant Company. When you have been in business almost 40 years like we have, you see certain concepts and ideas recycled from time to time. Sometimes we get a new twist on those old ideas.… Read More

Plants With Purpose Thanks UCSD Hearts & Hands Volunteer Doula Program

| January 22, 2019 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
The UCSD Hearts & Hands Volunteer Doula Program is the latest recipient of the Good Earth Plant Company “Plants with Purpose” nonprofit donation program. Good Earth provided orchids for the program’s annual “Comfort & Joy Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Party. The program’s mission is “to work within the UCSD Medical Center’s patient care team as volunteer birth assistants who provide non-clinical support in accordance with each mother’s preferences during her childbirth. To be a widely regarded, sustainable program model shown to enhance clinical outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.” Its goal is to provide every new mother delivering a baby at the UCSD Medical Center with access to a volunteer doula.… Read More

Rain or Shine, Do Your Part to Protect Our Oceans from Stormwater Pollution

| January 9, 2019 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
In winter 2018, the last thing we needed to worry about was stormwater pollution. We only got 3.77 inches of rain in the official 2017-2018 water year in San Diego. Now here we are in 2019, and our first blog post of the year is about the pollution effects of all the rain we’ve been getting. It’s great news in Sana Diego to get some drought relief, watching our reservoirs fill back up and enjoying snow in the mountains. But now we need to be concerned about managing the negative effects of all this water, such as stormwater pollution. Stormwater runoff is the single biggest contributor to poor water quality in San Diego.… Read More

The Blog Posts You Read Most in 2018

| January 2, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Moss Walls, Nature and Wellbeing
We enjoy putting time and thought into our weekly blog posts all year. We’re always curious what blog posts were most popular, so we can deliver more of whatever you enjoy reading most. Sometimes, you like practical advice. Other times, you want a little bit of fun.  We won’t comment on the reason why “World Naked Gardening Day” does so well EVERY year. I’m happy you continue to have interest in interior design trends affecting health and wellness, both at home and in the workplace. There are so many innovative ways now to incorporate nature and plants into your working environment including moss walls, replant plant walls, movable living wall dividers, and unique containers that are more like art pieces than simple pots.… Read More