Sustainability Is Worth The Struggle 

What kind of world will we leave for future generations? Photo: Pexels sustainability
Good Earth Plant Company loves it when our clients consider how their purchases impact our environment. Study after study demonstrates consumers want to buy products and services from companies taking a stand on saving the planet. A 2019 study of consumers found 83% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of products they buy and say it’s important for companies to design more environmentally friendly products. We think it should be 100% but it’s a good start. During a recent conversation with my son Ted, it hit me how pessimistic he feels about our earth’s health. The environmental outlook is dire.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company is Falling For Fall

Good Earth Plant Company loves fall. We'll tell you why. Photo: Pixabay
I can feel it in the air, see it in the changing landscape. Fall is here. The days grow shorter. The shadows grow longer. The sycamores are turning golden brown, the bird of paradise are full of flowers, the chaparral is dry and fully dormant, the sage extra pungent. Soon the cottonwoods in the San Diego River bed running through Mission Valley will be yellow, and the liquid ambers in your yard a deep red. Want even more color? Drive up to Julian or further up into the eastern Sierra mountains around Bishop. Fall is my favorite season. It doesn’t hurt that my birthday and Good Earth Plant Company’s anniversary both occur in the fall: October 25 and November 1.… Read More

Bringing Nature to The Brick Boutique Hotel in Oceanside

The Coco Cabana lounge high above downtown Oceanside, California. Photo: Jim Mumford
Plants + Creativity Make For Stunning Hospitality Biophilic Design Oceanside, CA has evolved into a gorgeous destination for food, drinks and ocean views. Once known mostly for rowdy fun, with the addition of luxury boutique hotels and shopping, it’s stepping up its game. Good Earth Plant Co. was thrilled for the opportunity to partner with creative architectural design firm GTC Creative on biophilic design for one of these gorgeous new Oceanside boutique hotels – The Brick Hotel, including the Q&A Oyster Bay and rooftop bar and lounge Coco Cabana. Hospitality design incorporating plants, or biophilic design, has been a growing trend for the last 5 years.… Read More

Return To Work Incentive Bringing Employees Back

return to work incentives
Labor Day 2022 is now behind us, the unofficial end of summer. Back to school and back to work for many Americans. I’m back from a late summer trip to Minneapolis to meet with my workplace greenery colleagues of the Silverado Roundtable, and I snuck in a family visit in Denver. I’m glad to be back at Good Earth Plant Company with many exciting new projects ahead this fall. Public service announcement: Need us to enrich people’ lives with plants at work or home? Contact us now! But back to work means something different after the coronavirus pandemic. It doesn’t necessarily mean going back to the office environment.… Read More

Houseplants Show Off at San Diego Botanic Garden

In my natural habitat: surrounded by plants at the San Diego Botanic Garden. Photo: Jim Mumford
The San Diego area is fortunate to have many public gardens to enjoy including the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly the Quail Botanical Garden) in Encinitas. When I learned SDBG planned to stage its first-ever special showcase featuring houseplants called “World of Houseplants” I couldn’t wait to see it! Life got in the way though, but I finally made it along with my mom, Sandy Fowler. The show is only open through Labor Day Monday. If you haven’t had the chance to see it, make time to go. As we’ve written over the past few years, houseplants have exploded in popularity.… Read More

Fertilizer 101 For Indoor Plant Parents

Help keep your indoor plants healthy by making sure they are well fed with the right type of plant fertilizer. Photo: Claudia Felbermayer / Pixabay
Good Earth Plant Company loves sharing our best tips on indoor plant selection and care with our plant-loving friends. Our advice on growing orchids was one of our most popular blog posts this year. The people have spoken. We’re all about giving the people what they want! The next step in developing your personal horticulture skills is learning how to feed and fertilize (the same thing) indoor plants. Yes, plants get hungry and need food. But plants can’t speak up and whine or beg when they’re hungry – which is a good thing if you have a chowhound or kitty making noise to get their treats. … Read More

Fig Tree Café Gets A Plant-Filled Makeover

Good Earth Plant Company enjoyed giving the original Fig Tree Cafe in Pacific Beach a well deserved refresh. Photo: Jim Mumford Good Earth Plant Company
We love working with new clients at Good Earth Plant Company. When Rise & Shine Hospitality Group Chief Operating Officer Cesar Garcia needed to remodel the original Pacific Beach location of Fig Tree Café, he started the same place most of us do: Google. Good Earth Plant Company is so glad he did! If you aren’t familiar with Fig Tree Café, it opened its first location in Pacific Beach in 2008 with a simple mission rooted in the creation of an inviting and genuine dining experience. Since then, CEO and founder Johan Engman opened in Liberty Station in 2013, and recently in East Village.… Read More

Top Trends at Cultivate 22: Color and Creativity

This three dimentional "grotto wall" using moss and living plants was my favorite display at Cultivate 22. I can't wait to build one myself! Photo: Jim Mumford
We’ve just wrapped up one of my favorite workplace greenery and horticulture conferences – the annual Cultivate 22 held in Columbus, Ohio, by American Hort, our national organization supporting and promoting the horticulture industry. We were back last year post-pandemic, but we were all still feeling the many effects of what we’d all gone through. This year, the energy, collaboration, and creativity were truly back. I could tell immediately from the bright-colored plant and floral displays in downtown Columbus. They were missing last year. More than 650 exhibitors and 10,000 industry professionals like me attend this show to see all the latest products and plants and talk with colleagues to share and learn about the latest trends and solutions for our clients.… Read More

Plants Can Save The World – It’s Science

Get busy, Eco-Warriors. Plants can save the world. We just have to lend a hand. Photo: Anna Shvets
In my spare time, I read science articles. Doesn’t everyone? In this case, the headline got my attention: “Plants aren’t good at photosynthesis. We can do it better.” This didn’t make sense to me. The reason plants grow and thrive is photosynthesis. It’s life and death for plants. The article was written by Dr. Raffael Jovine, a scientist who is the author of the new book “How Light Makes Life: The Hidden Wonders and World-Saving Powers of Photosynthesis.” I read more and thankfully, Dr. Jovine isn’t a hater. Far from it. His book explores how photosynthesis was first discovered and understood by humans, how it works, our planet’s reliance on photosynthesis for nearly all life, the economic value of photosynthesis, and how we can use photosynthesis and plants to save our environment and solve many other complex problems like hunger, healthcare, and equity.… Read More

Christmas In July At Good Earth Plant Company: Get Into The Holiday Spirit With Us

We're excited to offer Good Earth Plant Company clients the chance to work with a holiday decor specialist this year - Whinnery Designs. Photo: Courtesy Whinnery Designs
We’ve just wrapped up our Fourth of July fun, and a lot of it involved getting outdoors. Picnics, parades, fireworks, and vacation time. More sun, less screens (but not less sunscreen, that’s a different thing). Now you might return to those screens and see – Santa? Christmas trees? Holiday gift sales? Maybe you aren’t ready for Christmas in July, but it’s here. It might seem like a marketing grab, but there’s a real story behind Christmas in July. Christmas In July Has North Carolina Roots Christmas in July was started 89 years ago at Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina. It’s a girls’ only camp still open today.… Read More