Gardening

Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes worldwide. It continues to grow in popularity. The number of people growing their own vegetables, fruit and flowers keeps increasing each year.

Gardening is an inherently healthy activity. It helps foster a sense of community in a shared passion. It breaks down barriers.  People of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels can join in. It’s fun, it doesn’t have to cost anything, and it strengthens our ties to nature – our biophilic connection.

Overall, American gardeners reported spending a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales, the highest ever, with a record average household spend of $503 – up nearly $100 over the previous year. One-third of this comes from 18 to 34-year-olds.

Container gardening set new sales records, too.  Since many gardening enthusiasts don’t have the typical suburban backyard or much space, they’re pursuing their hobby on a smaller scale – and it’s mostly indoors.

Indoor gardening is growing like crazy. Thirty percent of all households bought at least one houseplant in the past year. Good Earth Plant Company enjoys sharing our professional expertise in indoor gardening with our readers.

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.

Plant A Weed and Save the Monarchs

| February 27, 2019 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The western California monarch is in danger of extinction. Good Earth Plant Company provides critical milkweed habitat and we're thrilled to see it working. Photo: Erin Lindley
Recently a visitor to Good Earth Plant Company asked me “Hey, what’s that tall plant growing on your green roof?” I told her it was milkweed. What I didn’t say is that it might be the most important plant on the entire green roof. The Western monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable insects in the world. It is called “the ambassador of nature.” In coastal California cities where migrating monarch butterflies have traditionally spent their winters like Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara, there is a whole tourism industry built around the butterflies. Ten million monarch butterflies used to spend the winter in California during the 1980s, according to estimates.… Read More

Do These Six Things to Keep Indoor Plants Healthy During Winter

| February 6, 2019 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Even indoor plants feel the change of seasons. Photo: Skitterphoto - Creative Commons License
Winter has hit San Diego along with the rest of the U.S. No polar vortex here, thank goodness, but we know it’s winter without needed snow on the ground or freezing daytime temperatures. We feel the change of seasons even if we don’t have to shovel driveways or scrape windshields. Plants feel the change of seasons, too – even your indoor plants. Your container plants at home and in the office grow in the spring and summer and go dormant in the winter just like their outdoor cousins. During these cooler months, conditions change inside where your indoor plants live. Less sun comes through your windows.… Read More

How Long Do Plants Live?

| October 10, 2018 | Categories: Gardening, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
I’ve read several times recently that Millennials are filling up their lives with plants as substitutes for traditional pets like dogs and cats, and even kids! It’s true that plant sales have increased since 2016. This is great news for us at Good Earth Plant Company. We’re working every day to enrich people’s lives with plants. This caused me to think about house plants as pets. We love our dogs, our cats, our birds, and other pets, and it hurts when we lose them to old age. It comes so fast. What about plants? Do house plants have a predetermined, predictable lifespan?… Read More

Art Becomes a Living Thing at San Diego Art Alive

| April 26, 2018 | Categories: Case Studies, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
Brianna's finished floral artwork next to the original painting at the "Art Alive 2018" exhibit.
“Art Alive” has been part of my life and my family’s life for several decades. I first got involved way back when I was still a florist. No matter how busy I got, this is one community project I’ve always enjoyed and will always make time for it. “Art Alive” is now in its 37th year. Local and national floral designers create their own floral interpretations of artworks from the Museum for “Art Alive” every year. There will be more than 100 floral displays of art masterpieces, and a whole weekend of flower-filled activities and events. For me it’s the perfect intersection of nature and art.… Read More

Easter Comes Early for Good Earth Plant Company and Alpha Square

| March 31, 2018 | Categories: Case Studies, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Jim Mumford and daughter Allie Mumford survey the bromeliads and orchids at the Alpha Square Apartments about to find new homes for Easter.
Easter came a little earlier than expected for Good Earth Plant Company, and for residents of the Alpha Square Apartment complex. Eco-Warrior Jim Mumford and daughter Allie Mumford delivered orchids and bromeliads to residents to brighten their homes. They were enthusiastically received with many smiles. Good Earth Plant Company also provided orchids to the San Diego Blood Bank as a donor premium. We received wonderful responses. If an orchid or bromeliad can convince someone to donate the gift of life, we are all for it. You can contact the San Diego Blood Bank to learn whether you are eligible to donate (most healthy adults are!)… Read More

11 Deadly Enemies of Your Indoor Plants

| March 15, 2018 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
When chosen wisely and treated well, indoor plants can survive and thrive in nearly any office or home environment. It is well worth the investment of your time and attention to be sure your plants are getting the right care. But whether it’s due to ignorance, neglect, or flat out abuse, indoor plants face many enemies to their good health. The team of professional horticulture technicians who care for plants every day at Good Earth Plant Company know how to avoid the most common problems, and troubleshoot others when they pop up. Through our 40 years of experience, we’ve put together 11 enemies of your indoor plants for you to learn about and avoid.… Read More

We’re Out Of Our Gourd About Halloween

| October 26, 2017 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Sustainable Living
Americans really love Halloween. Really, really love it! The National Retail Federation projects total spending this Halloween of $9.1 billion, with 179 million Americans planning to take part in festivities of some kind. For every three dollars spent on a child’s costume, another dollar is spent on a pet’s costume. Here’s even more proof: Out of the 50 plus blog posts we published in 2016, our blog post about Halloween pumpkins was one of the most popular, especially on the popular sharing website StumbleUpon. We are all about giving our readers what they want, so we will return to one of our favorite topics at this time of year.… Read More

Top Ten Indoor Plants Safe for Your Pets

| July 13, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Americans love their pets. They’re family to many of us. It’s estimated that 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats are owned in the United States. Approximately 44% of all households in the U.S. have a dog, and 35% have a cat. When your animals are your family, keeping them safe becomes a top priority. When you’re making your home pet-friendly and pet-safe, be sure you take your houseplants into consideration. While I’ve owned many dogs and cats and never had a problem, it’s a big enough concern to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to maintain information at its national Animal PoisonControl center about toxic plants.… Read More

Hooray for Red, White, and Blue: Patriotic Plants for July 4th

| June 29, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
With the Independence Day holiday immediately ahead of us, I see people showing their patriotism with a lot of red, white and blue. American flags are flying. People are wearing their stars and stripes. They are even decorating their homes with red, white and blue plants and floral displays. Back when I was still selling flowers downtown, the only thing I remember offering were red, white and blue carnation bouquets. I hate to break it to you, but those blue carnations aren’t found in nature. You can find orchids, mums and Peruvian lilies and more dyed blue. Perhaps blue hydrangeas are close, but that comes from adding aluminum sulphate to the soil.… Read More

World Naked Gardening Day, There’s a Serious Point

| May 3, 2017 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Be careful with your gardening tools on World Naked Gardening Day - it's on May 5, 2018!
When I found out this Saturday, May 6 is officially the 13th annual “World Naked Gardening Day,” of course I laughed. Come on, who wouldn’t? Then I thought, ‘Boy, that’s going to take a LOT of sunscreen. More for some than others!’ World Naked Gardening Day is a real event, and while we all might giggle about it, there’s an important point to it. People across the globe are encouraged, on the first Saturday of May, to get outside and weed, dig, plant, fertilize, and otherwise tend to their garden space as Mother Nature made you: without any clothes on. Founder Mark Storey, a Seattle resident, says gloves, hats, and boots are perfectly OK by him.… Read More