Biophilic Design

Biophilic design uses the human connection to nature (“biophilia”) to connect people more closely to nature in buildings including homes, workplaces, businesses, public facilities, schools, hospitals, and more. Biophilic-designed buildings incorporate indoor plants, interior landscaping, natural lighting, fresh air ventilation, and other elements to create a healthier environment to support human health and wellbeing.

There are 24 individual qualities of biophilic design. They include:

  • Direct experience: contact with green elements such as plants, views of nature, water, and natural airflow.
  • Indirect experience: the use of natural materials such as wood or natural fabrics like cotton and wool; exposure to images of nature in artwork; and the use of natural shapes and forms.
  • Experience of space and place: How is your own cultural and ecological attachment to a particular indoor area affected?

Multiple studies show a positive relationship between the presence of nature in the workplace and employee wellness and productivity. The design think tank Human Spaces reports employees working in environments with natural elements like plants and sunlight have a 15 percent higher level of well-being. This translates into a six percent increase in productivity and a 15 percent increase in creativity.

Think about what a six percent efficiency increase would mean in your business. Imagine one creative idea that turns into the next Tesla, Bitcoin, or even Scrub Daddy (look it up). What would you be willing to invest in getting there?

There are several simple design changes easily made in workspaces. The easiest and most cost-efficient way is the addition of plants into your environment. This action also gets building owners and facilities managers thinking big picture about the amount of space people have to work in or the best way to make buildings safer and healthier. Safety, health, and worker productivity all go together.

Natural light, plants and vegetation, living walls, natural textures and materials, and views of nature will all provide the positive impact employers need to hire and keep their employees. And it can all be done for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per employee daily.

Bring The Office Back to Life With Plants

| February 24, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Can it really be nearly a year since our world turned upside down because of a little spiky-looking virus? No one knew we’d still be trying to figure out how our future will look at the end of February 2021. We’re grateful at Good Earth Plant Company to be thriving and helping our clients to embrace the healthy approach to the way we work and live with biophilic design. Long before the coronavirus pandemic back in 1977 when I opened my first flower stand in downtown San Diego, it’s been my passion to enrich peoples’ lives by adding nature using plants.… Read More

#GreenWallDay is Every Day at GEP

| February 17, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Living Walls, Moss Walls
The wall that started us down a new road at Pizzeria Mozza Hollywood in 2010. You never forget your first! #GreenWallDay
While you were recovering from Valentine’s  Day (or apologizing) and enjoying President’s Day on Monday, I bet you missed the first-ever International #GreenWallDay. We’re here to get you caught up on all things green walls – or as we more commonly call them in the United States, living walls. Green Wall Day is the idea of the Green Roofs organization in the United Kingdom, and #GreenWallDay was founded by Pritchard & Pritchard, with the support of industry leaders, including ANS Global, Biotecture, Mobilane, Scotscape and Terapia Urbana. You can add Good Earth Plant Company to the list. The event honors the inventor of the modern living wall.… Read More

New for You: Good Earth Plant Company’s First White Paper

| January 27, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Where would YOU rathr work? Our new white paper is optimistic about the future of the American office. Cover: Silverado Roundtable
Why was I crazy enough to tackle a white paper in the middle of a pandemic? When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world over a year ago, Good Earth Plant Company wondered how it would affect our clients and us. We found out the need for nature was greater than ever. After we got past the shock of the first few months and started looking toward the future, it seemed obvious the need for biophilic design and nature in our workplaces and gathering spaces would be greater than ever for our health and wellbeing. But no one was really talking about it.… Read More

You Can’t Get a Good Plant Stylist Down: 2021’s Top Design Trends

| January 20, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
The post pandemic office will be filled with light and plants when employees return in 2021. Phjoto: Valeria Boltneva plant stylist
Can you think back to this same time in 2020? It’s easy for me. It’s the week of my favorite New Year tradition, even if it’s three weeks late. Normally I’m traveling across the country to join my Plantscaping industry colleagues from 45 states and 37 different Florida countries at the Tropical Plants International Expo, AKA TPIE. Seeing all the new concepts and trends in indoor plant production, presentation, and design gets everyone at Good Earth Plant Company energized for the year ahead. When the show is over, I can’t wait to get back to work for our clients. Even after four decades in business, it doesn’t get old.… Read More

Nature Naturally Leads 2021 Top Design Trends

| January 13, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Our project for Deloitte features indoor plants as design elements. Photo: Jim Mumford
Nature lets us know it’s the start of a new year, even without a paper calendar. Our journey toward spring begins as the days slowly grow longer and warmer, although it’s a pretty subtle change at our home base in San Diego. It only makes you look a little harder and become more aware. It also means it’s time for the Eco Warriors at Good Earth Plant Company to predict the 2021 top trends in plant styling and biophilic design trends for the year ahead. But this year isn’t like any other year. We are still reeling from a year like no other we’ve experienced going into our 44th (WOW!)… Read More

Pantone’s Dual 2021 Colors of the Year

| December 16, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Plantscaping
Do we love the 2021 Pantone Colors of the Year? You bet - an Ultimate Gray pot with an Illuminating yellow bromeliad is stunning! Photo: Jim Mumford
More than ever as a crazy year is coming to an end, we get pretty excited at Good Earth Plant Company during the holidays, but it’s not what you expect. We love the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year! So do you. Our blog post with our review and critique of the annual announcement is one of the most-read blog posts every year. Now it’s here! For 20 years in early December, the Pantone Company announces its annual choice for “Color of the Year.” We think about color a lot in our biophilic design work. While green dominates our designs, there’s a lot of creative potential in the choice of containers and other physical elements. … Read More

Resimercial Movement: Real and Here to Stay

| October 15, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
The resimercial workplace of the future is likely to look more like this than the open office or cubicle farm. Photo: Iva Balk/Pixabay
I have always wanted to start a blog post this way. “Don’t you hate it when…” Don’t you hate it when people smash two words together to make another new word? It’s lazy. The words are always awkward. Athleisure. Brangelina. Resimercial. You probably know the first two words, but I bet “resimercial” is new to you. Resimercial is catching hold and it looks like it’s going to stick just like athleisure for a lot of the same reasons. It’s comfortable, and it fits. FYI: for those who don’t know it, “athleisure” is traditional athletic clothing like yoga pants which are now acceptable leisure wear.… Read More

Party With Plants! – National Indoor Plant Week

| September 23, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
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

Basic Watering Guide From Our Plant Stylists

| August 12, 2020 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Water and Water Conservation
Good Earth Plant Company's plant stylists get asked about watering more than any other topic. Photo: Torsten Dettlaff/Pexels
In last week’s blog post, we shared tips from the Good Earth Plant Company experience on whether your plants like a drink of something other than water. Readers told us they enjoyed it – and then said “But we could really use more advice about watering our indoor plants.” If there is one thing we have heard over more than 40 years as plant stylists and indoor plant technicians, it’s this. People still aren’t sure how to water their plants. Proper watering goes hand in hand with proper placement for successful indoor plants. With people spending more time inside due to the coronavirus pandemic, and more picking up plants (see below) to keep them company, we’re following up with Part 2 in our advice series.… Read More

Let Parks Plant the Seeds for Social Equity

| July 8, 2020 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
Everyone needs a safe place to play in nature, especially our kids. Photo: Pexels
When I first started writing this blog 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 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. I’m now giving thought to the social equity issues surrounding nature in these times. July is National Park and Recreation Month, an initiative of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Park and recreation professionals promote a community’s health and well being through access to nature, green space, recreation, and fitness to create a lasting and positive impact on a community’s health and wellness.… Read More