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.

Dr. Nature Prescribes Gardening for Good Health

| June 1, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
Monday, June 6 is National Gardening Exercise Day. Get a little dirty and celebrate.
Have you seen all the fitness wristbands on the market? It seems like they can measure nearly anything! Of course you have to be doing something to measure in the first place. We are told that sitting is the new smoking, and if we work behind a desk at all we’ve got to get up and move frequently. The goal is to walk 10,000 steps in a day or get the equivalent amount of exercise. Sure, it sounds easy but it means you need to get in a minimum of five miles of walking per day. If you walk at a brisk pace this can be an hour and 15 minutes or more.… Read More

Don’t Read This Blog Post and You’ll Be Happier

| March 30, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Happiness and what makes people happier has always been a keen interest of mine. You might think it’s because I started my career in Plantscaping and green building working in a flower shop. Because flowers make people happy, right? It actually goes back even further for me, a generation further to be exact. My father, Bob, has always loved nature and it definitely rubbed off on me. When he took up nature photography as a serious hobby and then a second profession, it reinforced all those lessons from my childhood. Check out his website here, you’ll love it as much as I do.… Read More

It’s Natural Good Earth Plants Loves the Start of Spring

| March 23, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Sometimes when you live in San Diego, you don’t take notice of the change in seasons. It’s not all that obvious when we move from spring to summer, or summer to fall. We don’t see spring when the cherry blossoms bloom like in Washington D.C. So if the first day of spring this year got by you on the calendar last Sunday in San Diego, it’s understandable. But if you look, you will find new growth and flowers that only bloom this time of year. Chances are though you know it’s spring from some undeniable internal signals. For one thing, we have more daylight.… Read More

The Good Earth Plant Way on St. Patrick’s Day

| March 17, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The magic of the number three makes the shamrock a mystical, magical plant the symbol of a nation and its national holiday, St. Patrick's Day.
Thirty six million Americans claim at least a little bit of Irish ancestry, myself included. Over 80 million people worldwide claim an Irish family connection. No wonder St. Patrick’s Day is more popular outside Ireland: the total population of the country is just 4.8 million people. We love St. Patrick’s Day at Good Earth Plant Company, because it’s all about the green! Anything that gets people thinking green and about plants is something we support, whether we are Irish or not. The truth is that blue was the color traditionally associated with Ireland, and the color most often connected with the real St.… Read More

Let’s Make San Diego A Biophilia Hub

| March 2, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Leaders from 40 of the best large gardens in North America came to San Diego last week for the Directors of Large Gardens Conference at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas. When I opened my San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday, I was glad to see an article about the meeting by reporter Phil Diehl, and I especially loved the headline:  “Stressed? You may need some nature.” Right up my alley. It’s worth reading. As many good things as the article covered, there were so many other great topics it couldn’t fit in. Many are the things we write about here in this blog: biophilia, bioinspiration, biomimicry, author Richard Louv’s concept of “nature deficit disorder,” the new Wellbeing Standards – I could go on.… Read More

Join the #OptOutside Movement on Black Friday

| November 25, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Recently it seems like we barely get to clear the Thanksgiving dinner table before the madness known as Black Friday hits us. So I was one of many people who loved REI’s announcement on October 27 it would not just close its stores in Black Friday and give their 12,000 employees the day off, but it would also encourage all of them to enjoy outdoor activities with family and friends. What a concept, putting Nature at the center of your Thanksgiving holiday. We could all use a reason to burn some calories after chowing down Thursday night. I’m not naïve enough to think there wasn’t a bit of public relations genius behind this.… Read More

Good Earth Plants Presents Pumpkin Power Halloween Trivia

| October 29, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company
The tradition of carving pumpkins came from Irish immigrants to the U.S.
Halloween is on Saturday. For most Americans, you can’t have Halloween without pumpkins. Displaying a pumpkin or carving one into a traditional Jack-O-Lantern is a popular Halloween tradition. We are out of our gourd about pumpkins at Good Earth Plant Company. In honor of this festive fruit (yes, it’s a fruit and not a vegetable), we present our Pumpkin Power Trivia. Orange you glad? The tradition of carving pumpkins started in Ireland. The Irish originally used turnips and sometimes potatoes. They carved ugly faces into them to ward off evil spirits. When Irish immigrants came to America, they switched to pumpkins, which were larger and easier to carve.… Read More

Prescribing Nature as the Cure: Ecotherapy

| October 23, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Human beings need exposure to nature for their physical and mental health.
When I first started writing this blog over two years ago in 2013, one of the first topics I wrote about was the concept of biophilia, the study of the connection between human beings and nature. I’m sure a lot of people thought the idea was a little “out there.” We have come a long way in thinking about how nature affects our well-being in that time. This month, the respected magazine The Atlantic published an article called “The Nature Cure.” It is all about the growing practice of medical professionals including mental health specialists actually prescribing nature to their patients to help treat their ills.… Read More

Quiz: Are You Getting Enough Vitamin N – as in Nature?

| August 13, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Are you and especially your kids getting enough vitamin N - as in Nature? Good Earth Plant Company San Diego
If you’re a regular reader of our Good Earth Plant Company blog, you know one of our favorite topics to write about is the connection people have to nature and how much nature influences our well being. We learn more on an almost daily basis how important it is for all of us to integrate the natural world into our urban lives in the workplace and at home. Wouldn’t you like to know how well you’re doing, and what specific things you should do to increase the presence of nature and plants in your life? We found this ingenious little quiz put together by some smart people at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing.… Read More

Getting Schooled about Plants, Nature, Biophilia and Wellness

| June 25, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Architects designing today’s hospitals are merging art and evidence-based research to create environments that promote health and healing. Views of nature, natural light, earth-toned color schemes and the sounds of nature all help patients heal more quickly, and they suffer less from depression or side effects. Starting with a study in 2002 by University of Texas professor Roger Ulrich which we have written about before, there are now over 1,000 studies and they all prove the same thing. Plants and nature promote healing. It’s serious science and it is finally starting to be taken seriously. This week, the San Diego Business Journal published an article about changes in the approach to architectural design of hospitals and other healthcare facilities to put these principles into practice.… Read More