Gardening
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
Top Blog Posts for 2019: Practical Tips and Naked Gardening
Good Earth Plant Company KNOWS what you like. Most of all, you like our practical tips. We know you love great photos. And who can’t use a laugh or a WOW in their day!
But – we aren’t going to speculate why for the third year in a row, you made Naked Gardening our Number One most read blog post for 2019. We’re just going to report the facts.
Good Earth Plant Company puts a lot of work into our blog, because we love bringing you the latest news about interior design trends affecting YOUR health and wellness at home and in the workplace.… Read More
Good Day Sunshine! Jump Start Your Day Naturally
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Hit the snooze button? Brush your teeth? Get some coffee? Check social media? Go to the gym?
A survey conducted by the consulting firm Deloitte isn’t much of a surprise. Forty-three percent of people check their phone within five minutes of waking up. Seventeen percent check immediately, some even before they get out of bed.
In a study of morning rituals by management expert Laura Vanderkam and Inc. Magazine, successful people start their day with water instead of coffee, exercise, work on either a priority business project or spend time on a personal passion project, spend time with family, meditate – and one-third say they make their beds every day.… Read More
Survey Says: The Younger Generation Digs Gardening
When you think about gardening, do you picture your grandmother tending her rose garden? Maybe a retired neighbor mowing his lush lawn?
According to the National Gardening Survey, the typical gardener and plant enthusiast is much younger and isn’t living in the suburbs.
In the 2019 version of this annual survey presented every year at the American Horticulture Association’s Cultivate conference (which I attend every single year), 38 percent of adults age 18 to 34 plan to spend more on lawn and garden activities in 2019, compared to the overall average of 29 percent for all age groups.
Yes, plants are trending and cool and we could not be happier at Good Earth Plant Company!… Read More
Our Top Ten Best Plant and Nature Apps
Back when kids like me didn’t have smartphones, we used BOOKS to learn about nature. If you wanted help identifying plants or birds or animals, you used books called “field guides” to take with you to help figure out whether you were looking at a sparrow or a warbler. If you wanted to figure out where a trail would go, you used a paper map. You better not tear it, or get it wet!
But now, technology has put this kind of knowledge in the palm of our hands – as long as your power doesn’t wear out and your wifi is working.… Read More
Easiest Indoor Plants to Grow For Black Thumbs
By now you’ve gotten the message: adding plants to your indoor environment at home and work provides multiple benefits to your physical and mental health. Study after study confirms plants clean your indoor air of toxins, raising humidity to healthier levels, increase the oxygen levels, buffer noise, calm your nerves and help you focus. And this is just for starters.
“But Jim,” you say, “I have a black thumb. I’m a plant killer. I can’t grow ANYTHING. What can I do?”
You can always hire a professional and leave it to us (hint). But there are some plants nearly impossible to kill.… Read More
Our Love For Blue Flowers: It’s Complicated
With Memorial Day coming up and the Fourth of July not all that far away, the red, white and blue decorations are starting to appear, including garden and floral displays. Commercial garden centers and big box stores are putting their red, white, and blue flowers and plants front and center.
Forty years ago when I sold flowers downtown, the only option I could offer to patriotic customers were red, white and blue carnation bouquets. I’ll let you in on a secret: those blue carnations were NOT found in nature.
Naturally blue flowers aren’t just rare. They don’t exist. True blue pigment doesn’t exist in plants of any kind.… Read More
Don’t Bug Me: Control Pests Without Pesticides
Summer is coming, we promise. Summer brings so many good things, but it also brings some not-so-good things. Plant pests love the summer weather as much as people do. While bugs can bug your indoor plants any time of year, they get more opportunities to thrive in the late spring and summer months.
The weather warms up. You turn off the heater, and open your windows and doors. Pests have more ways to enter your house, and they like the more humid air. You see your indoor plants have a growth period as spring arrives. Bugs see a plant buffet.
If your first reaction to finding pests on your plants is to grab the pesticide, please stop!… Read More
Expose Yourself to World Naked Gardening Day
I first learned about “World Naked Gardening Day” two years ago. I thought for sure it was a joke played on me by some of my friends. What a surprise to find out it’s a real event, not just what I used to do when I lived in rural San Diego without neighbors close by. And it’s been going on for years. So I wrote a blog post about it.
So the laugh is on me, because the original 2017 blog post about World Naked Gardening Day is one of our top most-read blog posts of ALL TIME. Who knew so many people were interested in this phenomenon?… Read More
When Should I Repot My House Plants?
So you’ve gotten into the current craze for houseplants. You’ve added a few at home and in your workspace. Hooray and good for you! Literally, plants are good for you and keep you connected to nature, healthier, and happier. Congratulations from your Good Earth Plant Company Eco-Warriors.
Maybe you’ve had your plants for a year now, maybe 18 or 24 months. What now? One of the most common questions plant owners ask when moving on to the next stage of plant care expertise is this: when should I repot my houseplants?
Great question, and perfect timing. Spring presents the ideal opportunity to repot houseplants that need more room to spread their roots and grow. … Read More