Environment

Human impact on the Earth’s environment is creating climate change, global warming, and polluting air, land, and water on our planet with disastrous results. We must work to reverse these effects through sustainable practices and through thoughtful design and practices.

Give Thanks For Good Earth Plant Company’s Trivia Contest

| November 13, 2014 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company
Which of these popular Thanksgiving vegetables is native to North America, and which ones are not?
Part of our mission at Good Earth Plant Company is to share what we have learned and educate our clients and friends. But we also like to have fun, so why not combine the two? Welcome to our first Good Earth Plant Company Trivia Contest, first in what we hope will be a long running series. We will give you ten questions on a specific theme. The rules are simple. Email your ten answers to Katelyn@goodearthplants.com The person who gets the most questions right by 12 midnight on Saturday, November 15 gets a swell prize: your choice of a beautiful potted orchid, or a $20 Starbucks gift card.… Read More

Tips for Preventing The Time Change From Affecting Your Health

| October 30, 2014 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Don't forget to "fall back" this weekend on Saturday, Nov. 1.
This weekend we change our clocks from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the U.S. and Canada (unless you’re reading this from Arizona, Hawaii, four U.S. territorial islands or a few small spots north of the border). Before going to bed on Saturday, November 1, turn your clocks BACK one hour. You’re welcome. Our public service announcement for the week is concluded. Now for our safety message: Next week, be extra careful commuting, especially driving home. The transition to standard time increases motor vehicle accidents, especially fatal accidents and pedestrian vs. car accidents. It is estimated that sticking with daylight time year-round would prevent 195 deaths from car accidents, and another 171 pedestrian fatalities.… Read More

Going Gray(Water) The Safe Way

| August 21, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
living wall
In a previous blog post, Good Earth Plant Company shared some of our best tips on how to conserve water while keeping your plants healthy. Landscape irrigation has the highest use of water in the average household. Watering your plants efficiently is a great start to reach the goal to reduce our water use by 20% by 2020. However, this alone is not enough. Good Earth Plants can help you take the next step to effectively conserve water by using gray water systems. Gray water systems are used to recycle water already used once in your shower and laundry water for the purpose of watering your garden.… Read More

Flowers and World Peace: Why Not?

| August 15, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
“Sweet flowers alone can say what passion fears revealing.” – Thomas Hood Watch any news and you’ll see constant discussion on war in the Middle East. Perhaps things would be different if plants were involved. At Good Earth Plants, we think it couldn’t hurt. The olive branch is the symbol of peace. Wouldn’t it be a better world if olive branches were exchanged instead of bullets? Throughout history, people have used the gift of plants and flowers to communicate human emotions. Many of us know the red rose stands for love, and the daisy for happiness. Good Earth Plant Company wants to widen your plant vocabulary so the next time you give flowers or a plant as gift, it will hold a deeper meaning.… Read More

You Don’t Need 4th of July Fireworks to Show Patriotism

| July 3, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company
In April 2010, San Diego Magazine named me one of four regional “Eco-Warriors.” Since then we’ve affectionately adopted the name on our business cards and uniforms. We are all “Eco-Warriors” at Good Earth Plants and our sister company GreenScaped Buildings. My son Ted Photoshopped my head onto Superman’s body complete with a flowing green cape, shorts and boots, giving us an endearing image of what an Eco-Warrior might look like. San Diego attorney and Coast Law Groups Managing Partner Marco Gonzalez was also named an “Eco-Warrior.” He is also the former attorney for the well-regarding environmental organization San Diego Coastkeeper. Marco is one of a small handful of activist attorneys taking on high-profile and publicly controversial matters inappropriately sited desalination facilities, statewide septic system regulation, and irresponsible highway widening projects.… Read More

The Top Ten Plants for Cleaning Your Air

| June 30, 2014 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
The sturdy Golden Pothos makes our Top Ten list. Photo: Elvis Ripley, Flickr
If you read our blog regularly (and we hope you are!), you know Good Earth Plants is always looking for new ways plants can benefit you. One of the most important ways is to keep the air in your interior environment at work and home cleaner. Plants work their magic in part by absorbing toxins into their leaves. When plants scrub these toxins out of the air by processing them through photosynthesis, you don’t process them by breathing them into your lungs. There isn’t another indoor environment with more concern about keeping its air clean than a space ship, space shuttle, or space station.… Read More

Cleaning the Polluted Air: Easy as Planting a Tree

| May 15, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Sustainable Living
If we don't address our pollution issues and clean our air NOW, we could all end up living under a dome.
Life provides too many distractions: phone calls, emails and everything on Facebook. When time allows my thoughts to wander beyond my little world, many times it rests upon how we can improve the environment or at the least, reduces our negative impact on it. Almost always, plants find their way into my ideas for helping the situation in one way or another. The recent wildfires in San Diego County brought clouds of black smoke, ash and the loss of primarily native vegetation in undeveloped areas. Our first responders are working hard to contain the danger, but not without the loss of trees and habitat.… Read More

Six Reasons to Plant a Tree: Good Earth Plants Guide to Arbor Day

| May 8, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips
In all our zeal to prepare for our Open House and Plant Sale last week, we missed a special event on Friday, April 25: Arbor Day. It’s ironic that during our busy week of planning and preparing for our semi-annual Open House, we lost track of a day set aside to honor such living treasures. After scolding myself for “not seeing the forest for the trees,” I spent a few minutes reading about Arbor Day and what it is really all about. First celebrated in Spain in 1805, Arbor Day is most often celebrated by the planting of trees, always a good idea.… Read More

Find Outdoor Adventure In Your Own Backyard

| April 3, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
When we were young, finding new worlds to explore was easy. Just go out back into the canyons or woods, turn over some rocks, climb a few trees or visit the San Diego Zoo. Finding adventure as an adult is harder. Endless demands eat into precious daytime hours, leaving playtime lost to “more important” matters. When I read about a true modern-day adventurer I find myself green with envy. Take Dr. Marc Meyers of UCSD. This lucky guy is getting ready to head out on an adventure of a lifetime, one that nearly killed Teddy Roosevelt a century ago. Imagine a 1,500-mile expedition to South America traveling up the Amazon River studying the flora, fauna and the indigenous tribes you meet along the way.… Read More

Jim Mumford’s Tree Benefits You Never Knew

| March 20, 2014 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
My time spent growing up in San Diego in the 1960s and 70s was pretty close to perfect. There were always a gang of guys around for fun and adventure and the canyon behind my home provided the perfect giant trees for climbing, fort-building and tire-swinging. The canyon’s trees acted as sturdy protectors of my childhood and I never dreamed that someday those same trees might be endangered. Trees provide a multitude of benefits. Things you would never even think about. Did you know trees can help reduce violence? Neighborhoods and homes that lack trees have a higher rate of violence in and out of the home than their greener counterparts.… Read More