Return To Work Incentive Bringing Employees Back

| September 7, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
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

| August 23, 2022 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
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

| August 17, 2022 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
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

| August 9, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
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

| July 20, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
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

| July 13, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
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

| July 5, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Plantscaping
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

Go Green To Recruit Tech Talent

| June 22, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Our first moss wall project in 2022 for one of the GAMAM companies. Photo: Good Earth Plant Company sustainability must
Before the pandemic, technology employees loved their free meals, foosball, and office happy hour. Post-pandemic, it’s going to take more than booze to bring tech workers back into the office. Good Earth Plant Company has a hot tip for tech employers: Go green at work. Many of the big tech companies including the Big Five known as GAMAM (Google, Apple, Meta [Facebook], Amazon, and Microsoft) or FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) announced they would bring back their workers into the office. Their employees said, “Umm, not so fast.” Recent surveys found nearly three-quarters of tech employees plan to quit their jobs this year in part because of lack of flexibility with the post-pandemic return to the office push and toxic workplace culture.… Read More

Plants Add Finishing Touch To Luxury Living In La Jolla

| June 15, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Good Earth Plant Company works most often on larger commercial projects in office buildings, hotels, restaurants, technology and biotech properties, shopping centers, and retail businesses. When we get the opportunity to work on a residential project, it’s a treat and a special responsibility. We recently completed our second project for luxury homebuilder Blue Heron Homes. Even their name tells you something about this Las Vegas-based builder. It chose Blue Heron because it “represents something beautiful and unexpected, yet organic and naturally occurring.” Blue Heron designs home in harmony with the environment. Blue Heron called on us for plantscaping design services adding plants to a brand-new oceanfront home in La Jolla.… Read More

Keep Our Trees Green and Growing in Drought

| June 8, 2022 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Water and Water Conservation
San Diego's trees add to the beauty it is known for worldwide. Photo: City of San Diego keep our trees green
Several years ago, I encouraged blog readers to plant trees for the well-being of our planet. If you followed my advice, you have some shade to sit in while enjoying your beverage of choice! Now in the midst of the worst drought Southern California has experienced in our lifetime, the most important thing you can do now is to use the precious water available to keep our trees thriving. Put trees first in line for water Southern California officials are issuing new restrictions on outdoor water use amid the worsening drought. It’s fine for lawns to go brown – and it’s even better if we replace them.… Read More