One Thing Could Make Going Solar in San Diego Even Better

| December 8, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Green Roofs, Sustainable Living
When I had my first Eco-Warrior “a-ha!” moment at Good Earth Plant Company, it resulted in building the first commercial green roof on a building in the City of San Diego. You never forget your first! We have built several green roofs in the decade since then, from private homes in Del Mar and Encinitas to the “Fallen Star” art installation at UCSD, to the spectacular green roof at Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa. We love everything green roofs stand for at Good Earth Plants. Although a green roof requires a significant upfront investment for the construction and the need to irrigate it, a green roof can be expected to double or triple the life of the underlying conventional roof by protecting it from damage due to debris, UV radiation and expansion and contraction.… Read More

Real vs. Fake: The Christmas Tree Smackdown

| December 1, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
One of the Christmas trees created by Good Earth Plant Company for our clients.
The debate starts up every year about this time. We’re no closer to settling it, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. So choose up sides, and let’s go. Which is better for the earth, a real Christmas tree, or an artificial Christmas tree? There’s a little twist to this discussion in Southern California: our ongoing drought. Despite the welcome rain in San Diego County earlier this week, California is in its third year of a serious drought. The average Christmas tree grows for an average of six to eight years before it reaches the typical six to seven-foot height for cutting and display.… Read More

Time For Thanks at Good Earth Plants and GreenScaped Buildings

| November 23, 2016 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company
Good Earth Plant Company's original business location on a Thanksgiving nearly four decades ago! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
It is (already!) Thanksgiving 2016, and I’m thankful for many people in my life. Thanksgiving is a good time to let them know. I’m thankful for: • My folks: far from perfect, but great role models and teachers. They set a good standard and give me plenty to both admire and laugh about. • My son Ted: just enough of me in him to make me proud, just enough “other” to make him interesting. He is going to save the world. You watch. • My daughter Allie: although she tries to deny it, she is way too much like me – plus smart, capable and talented.… Read More

Healing and Growing With Horticultural Therapy

| November 16, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Case Studies, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
Laura Eubanks in one of the beautiful gardens she designed. Photo: Kyle Short
Several years ago at a Water Conservation Garden event at Cuyamaca College, I met Laura Eubanks. I stopped at her booth to talk to her because she had some of the most beautiful succulent displays I’d seen in a long time. At the time, Laura was an aspiring landscape designer. She asked a lot of questions, and even then I knew she would be successful. Today, Laura’s company “Design for Serenity” and her one of a kind drought tolerant landscapes are gaining worldwide acclaim. She recently returned from Brazil where she installed two demonstration gardens. What I didn’t know until recently is why Laura was drawn to gardening.… Read More

Let The Sunshine In To Lift Your Mood Naturally

| November 10, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Light exposure is deeply tied to our wellbeing. When the days grow shorter, we need to be proactive to boost our sunlight and nature exposure. Good Earth Plant Company San Diego 858-576-9300
Are you feeling a little blue? You might be tempted to blame this week’s presidential election results. Hillary Clinton gave a gracious concession speech, and we hope the best for President-elect Donald Trump (and don’t go changing our environmental laws any time soon). But it might not be the only reason you aren’t your usual cheerful self. The weekend before Election Day, we went through our annual change back from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the United States. Just the one hour of difference means most people are going home from work in the dark, and it also makes us aware we are slowly losing daylight a few minutes at a time until we reach the winter solstice on December 21 – just six weeks away.… Read More

Growing A Business, 39 Years and Counting

| November 1, 2016 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Plantscaping
Thirty-nine years ago today, all I wanted was a way to support myself. I was almost 20 and my dad had just kicked me out of the house because I didn’t get a job over the summer. I got a part-time job while going to community college, working at an outdoor “plant stand” in the financial district of downtown San Diego. It turned into my own full-time business. Shortly after starting my gig working for “Plants on the Plaza,” the three owners decided it was too much hassle to make them any real money and they wanted to sell. Back home and at dinner that night, my Naval Captain father said, “Let’s buy it!”… Read More

Halloween: Good Earth Plant Company’s Favorite Biophilic Holiday

| October 27, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Nature and Wellbeing
No one loves Halloween more than California’s farmers, because we live in one of the top five pumpkin producing states. And everyone knows you can’t have Halloween without pumpkins! The others are Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Eighty percent of our U.S. pumpkin crop is available in the month of October. Displaying a pumpkin or carving one into a traditional Jack-O-Lantern is a popular Halloween tradition. Learning how this came about is a lesson in how deeply our modern world remains tied through our traditions to the earth and our relationship with the seasons and nature. You can thank America’s Irish immigrants for Halloween in this country.… Read More

San Diego Isn’t As Green As It Should Be

| October 20, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
When the newest Green Buildings Adoption Index report came out earlier this week ranking the top 30 metropolitan areas in the United States, I checked it to see where San Diego stood. It would be in the Top Ten, right? No – and we didn’t even make the Top 20. In the report by the commercial real estate firm CBRE Group Inc. and Maastricht University in the Netherlands with the U.S. Green Building Council assessing the percentage of green, environmentally friendly and LEED certified buildings in the region, San Diego ranked 21st. This is pretty disappointing to me. San Francisco came in first, with 73.7 percent of its office space classified as “green.”… Read More

Don’t Kill Your Plants With Kindness

| October 13, 2016 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
It's not rocket science, really: humble plants like this Pothos can improve worker productivity. Photo: Julien Gong Min
We love our endless summer in San Diego, but it’s a nice change to finally feel the first hints of fall’s cooler temperatures. The time change back to standard time isn’t too far off either. Even San Diegans start spending a lot more time indoors at this time of year. It motivates me to communicate with our clients and you my blog readers about the importance of maintaining a healthy indoor environment when we start spending more time living and working indoors. You can imagine my reaction when I read this week in the Wall Street Journal about a new study claiming indoor plants could actually be BAD for your health.… Read More

Help Good Earth Plant Company Support “A Growing Passion”

| October 6, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Media Coverage, Nature and Wellbeing
Jim Mumford and Nan Sterman, KPBS TV
One of my favorite ways to spend time is to pass along my love of plants and nature and educate people about their many benefits. But even though I try, I can’t do it all myself. I have a business to run after all! There are plenty of other people who feel the same way. One of them is my fellow San Diegan Nan Sterman. Nan is no “Jane come lately” to the sustainability movement. Since the 1970s (as long as me!) Nan has used her skills as a garden designer, author, botanist, and award-winning garden communicator to help transform planted landscapes from overly thirsty and resource intensive to climate appropriate and sustainable.… Read More