Our Mission To Enrich Peoples’ Lives With Plants

| March 9, 2022 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
We're thrilled to partner with Paige Kries of Plant It Again. (L to R): Team member Laurie Boarders, Paige Kries, Jim Mumford, volunteer Margee Lawrence, and Kaylee Yoon. Photo: Paige Kries growing our mission
Time for some truth-telling on the blog this week. Our industry has a dirty little secret. Of all the environmentally responsible businesses in the world, you might think working with plants is especially earth-friendly. But in reality, there is waste associated with our business. Clients want their plants to look perfect. Living things are rarely perfect. We often swap out old plants that get too big for the space or aren’t doing well for some reason. Since we don’t want to spray anything inside your home or office, we always remove plants with disease or pest issues. We provide beautiful living art pieces that contain orchids and other flowering plants.… Read More

Christmas In March? It’s Never Too Early!

| March 2, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Clients are going for fun, lighthearted desigs. This live 12 foot tall tree is decorated in red and black, with 12 large drums, soldiers, and matching velvet balls. Photo: Whinney Designs Christmas in March
Years ago, I attended the Dallas Christmas Mart in January. Looking at holiday décor so quickly after we had just packed up and stored the previous year’s décor was not high on my list. But the show organizers made it very enticing, covering my airfare and hotel. So why not check it out? I was overwhelmed! Floor after floor after floor of lights and balls and ribbons and faux trees and wreaths and more. The prices were reasonable, but the discounts were on volume. I was very reluctant to place a big order for our somewhat small business, especially as it was so early in the year.… Read More

Monarch Butterflies Making A Comeback

| February 23, 2022 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, 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
With so much troubling news about our environment lately, any good news is welcome, and I found some worth sharing with you. The Monarch butterfly is making a comeback! Last month, the Xerces Society reported a surprising outcome from its 25th annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. Volunteers observed 247,237 monarch butterflies observed across western overwintering sites: a more than 100-fold increase from last year. Xerces Society biologists Isis Howard and Emma Pelton write, “This year’s total both amazed us with the monarchs’ ability to bounce up from a record low and underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts to recover the western monarch butterfly population.”… Read More

Sustainability Must Be More Than a Buzzword

| February 16, 2022 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Moss Walls, Sustainable Living
A closer look at the variety of textures and colors used in this moss wall design. Photo: Good Earth Plant Company questions about moss walls
After several years of designing and building living walls for our clients, we realized at Good Earth Plant Company we needed another option. While it’s always our preference to bring Nature into workplaces, homes, and other indoor spaces with living plants, it’s not always possible due to lighting, location, or other challenges. Then in 2015, Good Earth Plant Company installed our first moss wall. Moss walls provide most of the benefits of traditional living walls plus a few distinct advantages: Moss walls can thrive in any indoor setting. Moss walls don’t need any light or water, and minimum maintenance. Moss walls are incredibly lightweight for their size compared to the same size living walls.… Read More

Celebrating Black Plant Entrepreneurs

| February 2, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShopDaniG black plant entrepreneurs
It’s important to us at Good Earth Plant Company to use our platform to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to horticulture and gardening during Black History Month 2022. Last year’s blog post on Black agriculture pioneers was one of our most well-read posts in 2021. Thank you! If you didn’t get a chance to read about Tuskegee University pioneers Dr. George Washington Carver and Dr. Booker T. Whatley, Frederick McKinley, Marie Clark Taylor, Abra Lee, and Ron Finley, you might consider taking a few minutes to get acquainted with these impressive people. But we barely scratched the surface. There are many more Black gardeners, designers, and plant stylists currently making news and creating a unique plant culture that’s flourishing.… Read More

Green Thumbs Up! Back to Business in 2022

| January 26, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Our annual trip to Florida kickstarts the year for us at Good Earth Plant Company. back to business
The past two years have been a long, hard journey. I don’t need to explain why. Finally, at the start of 2022, it seems there’s finally some sunshine and optimism. For me, I finally got to return to my favorite kickstart to the year at the annual Tropical Plants International Expo, AKA TPIE. This year’s conference moved from its normal south Florida location to Tampa due to renovations at the original venue. Green thumbs up for our new hosts, the location in Tampa Convention Center was convenient and walkable. The impressive displays, especially the thoughtful education sessions the conference committee put together, were outstanding.… Read More

Ten Plant Care Do-Over Resolutions You Need to Make

| January 12, 2022 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Was it the usual stuff: lose weight, exercise more, drink less, wear something other than sweatpants? Are you already done with all of them 13 days into 2022? Forget these resolutions and start over with us at Good Earth Plant Company. Our resolution is one we’ve stuck with for more than 40 years: we enrich peoples’ lives with plants. We’ve found new ways to do it, and we’re always looking for creative innovations, but the mission never changes. We’re heading into 2022 with some amazing projects already underway. We’ll share them with you when they’re completed.… Read More

Pantone 2022 Color of the Year Is Very Peri

| January 5, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design
Feeling Very Peri! It's the 2022 Pantone Color of the Year. Photo: Jim Mumford
At Good Earth Plant Company, we look forward to the annual announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year. It’s true! And we know you do, too. We get a massive response when our review and critique of the annual announcement is posted. Everyone has an opinion about color. Every color creates different emotions and gives us all the feels: happy, sad, excited, calm, even hungry or relaxed. Our reactions have roots in psychological effects, biological conditioning, and cultural imprinting. Color is also tied to memory. Color helps the brain store and process images more efficiently than black or white. We remember colorful images better.… Read More

Nightmare Before Christmas: Christmas Trees In Short Supply

| December 8, 2021 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Our Christmas tree created for our client Illumina.
Many families usually make plans to put up their Christmas tree this time of year. But when’s the last time anything seemed normal? Like so many other goods right now, the supply chain problems slowing down the delivery of so many products affect Christmas trees. Whether you prefer a real Christmas tree or an artificial Christmas tree, it’s more complicated and more expensive in 2021. For California residents – and most people in Western states – the supply chain issues combine with inventory destroyed by western wildfires in tree-growing states like Oregon. Rising temperatures also create problems for tree farmers. The result: tree costs are up about five to ten percent.… Read More

Green TV Time: Jim Mumford on KLCS-TV Los Angeles

| December 1, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Media Coverage, Nature and Wellbeing
Looking over the KLCS camera crew's shoulder at the shot. Photo: Good Earth Plant Company
We’ve been sitting on this news for months. Just like kids at Christmas, the November 10 air date finally arrived for Good Earth Plant Company’s feature stories, and interviews on KLCS-TV show “Everybody with Angela Williamson.” KLCS -TV is a multiple Emmy Award-winning noncommercial PBS affiliate station, broadcasting to more than 15 million viewers in Los Angeles and Southern California. Eight million households per month, and one out of every 10 TV viewers in Southern California, watch KLCS. So you can imagine the excitement level about spreading the message about Good Earth’s mission to enrich peoples’ lives with plants. When KLCS host and producer Dr.… Read More