Biophilia

The concept of biophilia suggests an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Biophilia is the science exploring the human connection to nature and all living things. In his 1973 book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Sociologist Erich Fromm described it as “the passionate love of life and all that is alive.” Biologist Edward Wilson wrote in 1984 that human beings are biologically hardwired to need a connection with the natural world.

Whether in architecture or interior design, basing design on the principles of biophilia seeks to connect building occupants more closely to nature. Biophilic buildings incorporate natural lighting and ventilation, natural landscape features, and other elements to create a more productive and healthier built environment for people. Natural light, living plants, living walls, natural textures and materials, and nature views will provide a positive impact. Simulations such as artwork, moss walls, and replica walls are equally effective.

Good Earth Plant Company leverages its expertise in horticulture and plant styling to enrich peoples’ lives with plants, a key element of biophilia by bringing Nature into the built environment with container plants, living walls, moss walls, green roofs, and more.

Six Nature Videos to Savor From Good Earth Plant Company

The amazing, awe-inspiring Ōhaupō Tree Church In New Zealand is made from living trees. Photo: The Ōhaupō TreeChurch
We love nature videos. We post them from time to time on our Good Earth Plant Company Facebook page (and we hope you’re following us). I’m guessing you might have a little extra time this week? So we decided to step aside from our usual blog format and share some of our favorites with you. Amazing Amazonia In 2018, my son Ted and I took a trip through the Pantanal region south of the Amazon forest in Brazil. Talk about being immersed in nature! So I was thrilled when one of my favorite YouTube channels, Conservation International, produced a video a few weeks ago on the Amazon.… Read More

Lighten Up: Good News In A Dark World

Increasing expsure to sunlight during the shorter days can improve your health. Photo: Pixabay daylight
Are you feeling a little disheartened? This week’s contentious presidential election is hard on everyone whether you voted red OR blue. Coming on top of an especially rough year, it’s not a surprise if your mental health isn’t what it used to be. But don’t go blaming 2020 for your problems just yet. 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. The 60 minutes we adjusted our clocks suddenly makes us aware we are slowly losing daylight.… Read More

Party With Plants! – National Indoor Plant Week

My plant friends and I are ready to live it up for National Indoor Plant Week! Photo: Jim Mumford
It’s officially National Indoor Plant Week. Yes, it’s a real thing! It’s right up there with Naked Outdoor Gardening Day in May. It is celebrated the third week of September every year. This is one holiday COVID-19 can’t ruin for us. Your indoor plants deserve a celebration. They’ve kept you happier and healthier during the pandemic. You don’t have to worry about social distancing with your indoor plants. You can gather and party all you want, no masks required! To Good Earth Plant Company, 2020 has been National Indoor Plant YEAR. People have purchased plants in record numbers. Nurseries and garden centers remained open as essential businesses.… Read More

Your Summer Solstice Resolution: Get Outside

Longer hours of daylight and warmer weather naturally draw us outside more to enjoy it. We’ve been telling you for years this is a GOOD thing (with hats and sunscreen handy). So I had to laugh just a little when I read the Wall Street Journal this week. In an article on its Career and Leadership page, it featured a “new trend” for the coronavirus age: finding ways to hold work meetings in person by – meeting outside. News flash! The article reports workplaces setting up meetings in all kinds of outdoor spaces like parks, beaches, or even in private yards where social distancing and masks allow people to meet safely and get away from their screens and Zoom.… Read More

Be Like Nature, My Friend

We have so much to learn from the resilience of Nature. Photo: Quinton Delman/Pixabay
Is 2020 over yet? The situation in our country and in our communities leaves me nearly speechless. It has been a rough year. First, the coronavirus hit. Second, the U.S. economy took a dive, causing unemployment so high it didn’t even seem real. Then, just as it seemed like we might get through the worse of the pandemic crisis, the senseless murder of an African-American man in Minneapolis set off a chain reaction across the U.S. of anger and hurt, including in my home town — specifically the city of La Mesa, California. Many people staged peaceful protests. Some senseless opportunists used the protests as cover to pillage innocent business owners and communities.… Read More

20 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2020 All Year Long

Fifty years ago, the first Earth Day took place in 1970. It is now an annual event celebrated on April 22, coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. It reaches more than 192 countries each year including hundreds of communities in the United States. Earth Day fell on Wednesday this week – but with everything going on in the world around us, you might have missed it. Earth Week 2020’s formal activities including San Diego’s free, all-volunteer Earth Fair at Balboa Park had to be postponed. The County of San Diego offers a virtual Earth Day online here. But Mother Earth is enjoying the celebration.… Read More

Dirty Hands Keep Kids Happy While Learning About Nature

Parents used to worry about ways to keep their kids busy and out of trouble during their summer break from school. Now kids are on a never-ending spring into summer break, and it’s up to families to keep their education on track. I’ve never been so glad my kids are young adults now! Learning doesn’t always have to mean books and staying indoors. Encourage your kids to do something that comes naturally. Let them get their hands dirty in fun gardening activities. Take advantage of San Diego’s weather (when the rain clears) to hold a living science class outdoors. There are many age-appropriate opportunities for gardening and art projects that will instill a love of nature that will last a lifetime.… Read More

Nature Is Still Open

The South American Clivia plant in my yard is in full bloom! Photo: Jim Mumford
Has it only been a week since my last blog post? Since then, schools, stores, restaurants, bars, gyms, and many workplaces have closed down to try and stop the coronavirus pandemic from spreading. California residents like me and many other Americans are being asked to shelter in place. We are asked to stay at home except to “provide or receive essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential business or government services.” For those few clients that allow us, we consider their plants and asset worth protecting and we are watering them. You can pick up groceries and prescriptions, take your dog to the vet, or put your trash out for collection.… Read More

Show Mother Earth The Love on Valentine’s Day

Roses are a popular expression of love on Valentine's Day - but production can be hard on our planet. Photo: Dramm & Echter
Attention Good Earth Plant Company blog readers: Friday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. You’re welcome. If you let this sneak up on you like a lot of people, you’ll be scrambling today to purchase the no-brainer Valentine’s Day favorites: chocolates and flowers, usually roses. Valentine’s Day roses and I go back a long way at Good Earth Plant Company.  For my first 14 years in business,  I ran a flower stand named “Good Earth Plant & Flower Co.” – very different from what we do today after four decades in business. Back in the 1970s and into the early 1990s, our main product was fresh cut flowers, and our biggest sales rush of the year was Valentine’s Day.… Read More

Green Medicine from Mother Nature

One way or another, Mother Nature provides many different ways to improve our health and cure our problems. Human beings have relied on plants to treat their illnesses and ailments throughout history. Forty percent of all prescription medication comes from plant extracts or synthetic plant compounds. If you count other types of natural sources such as fungi and molds, nearly three-quarters of all drugs today come from Nature. Worldwide, there are 80,000 types of plants used medicinally, although some are illegal. Nearly 20 percent of them are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. Aspirin is one of the most common drugs worldwide.… Read More