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.

Six Mistakes You’re Making With Your Indoor Plants

| April 13, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Mistakes, we’ve all made a few (with apologies to Frank Sinatra). If I was writing about my OWN mistakes, this blog post would be a novel. Some very big mistakes have made the news recently. I haven’t made any quite that big and I’m sure you haven’t either. But I bet you ARE making some mistakes caring for your indoor plants. The most important thing about making a mistake is recognizing it, and learning from it. And not repeating it. These are everyday principles to our horticultural service technicians at Good Earth Plant Company but we all had to learn these things too.… Read More

Meet the Next Generation of Eco-Warriors

| April 5, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing
Sixth grade students from Innovation Academy took a field trip to Good Earth Plant Company’s living lab earlier this year. Students are working on green roof and living wall projects and wanted to see the “real deal.” During their visit to our living lab, we first did a power point presentation about how to build a green roof or living wall and some of the issues and concerns keeping them alive. We showed them photos of green roofs and living walls around the world. Then it was time to go outside and see them up close. Boy do they have a lot of questions, some really smart ones.… Read More

The Nose Knows When It’s Springtime

| March 23, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing
People who live in climates with true changes of season say they love the cycle from snow to rain to sunshine to fall leaves. It’s true there are times of year when spring flowers and fall leaves are a truly beautiful sight. Transplants to San Diego will tell you they “miss” the changing seasons. Southern California seasons change, too. The changes are more subtle, that’s all. We know it’s officially Spring this week, even when we’ve been hit by more rain (and nothing wrong with that). We are getting more hours of sunlight. Human beings instinctively feel it as part of the biophilic connection we have to the rhythms of nature.… Read More

Healthy Houseplants Your Stuffy Nose Will Love

| March 11, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Thanks to everything you’ve read on our blog (OK, and maybe elsewhere), you’ve decided to add plants to your indoor environment. It’s a smart move and with spring around the corner, it’s perfect timing. But for the one out of ten people who suffer from asthma and allergies, you need to make your choices carefully. We’ve known since the landmark 1989 NASA study we quote so often here that plants can greatly improve our indoor air quality by filtering harmful toxins and pollutants – things like benzene, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). But many plants also produce pollen as part of their reproductive process.… Read More

Bugging Out To Save Trees

| February 23, 2017 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
If UC Santa Cruz music professor David Dunn scores a hit with his latest composition, he’ll have millions of listeners, maybe even hundreds of millions. But they won’t be spending a dime, and they won’t be singing or dancing. They’ll be dying. For ten years, Professor Dunn has created music using sounds in nature, specifically the sound of bark beetles in California’s forest as they munch on trees. Aggressive bark beetles make a LOT of noise. They also contribute to widespread tree destruction, which has been made worse due to several years of drought. His recordings of bark beetles were turned into a CD called “The Sound of Light in Trees.”… Read More

Shhh, Be Quiet – Your Houseplants are Sleeping

| February 2, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
When the weather is sunny during the first few months of the year in San Diego, it’s hard to remember it’s winter time. Yes, even in Southern California. The days are getting longer again but we have several more weeks to go before we are getting a full, healthy dose of sunlight and the days even out into spring. During these winter months, your houseplants are taking a nap. Like many other creatures, they slow down and “hibernate” during the winter. Living creatures including plants evolved to conserve their energy when resources are scarce due to the natural cycle of the seasons in winter.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company Wishes You Happy 4715

| January 26, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing
Gung Hay Fat Choi 4715 (Happy Lunar New Year) from Good Earth Plant Company!
We never turn down the opportunity to celebrate a holiday at Good Earth Plant Company. So we are happy to wish you a Happy New Year, because Saturday, January 28, is the start of the Chinese or Lunar New Year 4715. It is celebrated by one-sixth of the world’s population. The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese lunar calendar measures months the way most cultures did from the beginning of humanity, by following the cycles of the moon. The lunar calendar begins each month when the night sky is darkest, on the new moon.… Read More

Don’t Bug Me! House Plants That Resist Pests

| January 11, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Closeup of Sansevieria plant in metal pot, domestic gardening, indoors interior.
Good Earth Plant’s Top 12 Pest-Resistant House Plants Many people love the idea of greening their indoor spaces but worry about pests. Thankfully, there are numerous pest-resistant house plants that are perfect for those without a green thumb. Even if you are a beginner, you can make it a lot easier on yourself if you choose plants that are proven to be easier to care for than others. But we’re standing by to help: it’s our mission at Good Earth Plant company to enrich people’s lives with plants. Give us a call to learn more about how we can assist you in selecting the perfect pest-resistant houseplants for your space! … Read More

What Did You Want To Know from Good Earth Plants in 2016?

| January 5, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Good Earth Plant Company has so many innovative ways to add plants to your interior design today, including spectacular moss walls.
The confetti and streamers are finally cleaned up, the holiday decorations (mostly) put away for another year. It’s time to begin 2017 with a clean slate. Doesn’t that feel good? It’s also a good time to look back, take stock, make some observations and learn some lessons. Applied to this blog, we try to provide useful, informative, and sometimes just plain enjoyable information. How do we know if we’re doing a good job? Thanks to technology, we know when people are clicking on our website and reading blog posts, not just the most recent post but every single blog post we’ve ever published.… Read More

Kermit The Frog Was Wrong: It IS Easy Being Green

| December 15, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The moss wall installed by Good Earth Plant Company at San Diego's newest LEED Certified building, owned by Kilroy Realty in Del Mar Heights.
I don’t remember exactly when the announcement of the Pantone Company’s “Color of the Year” became such a big deal. For the last few years at least, this American company best known for creating a universal color matching system called the “Pantone Matching System” names one color every December it thinks will be the hottest color trend in the coming year. Pantone has a committee of people who watch trends throughout the year in fashion, entertainment including films and TV, auto manufacturing, the fine art world, beauty products, and interior design. The committee members notice how the color is being used, what else it’s being used with, and whether it seems new or fresh.… Read More