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.

Green Roofs and the Drought: Invest Now, Save Later

GreenScaped Buildings installed this green roof at Rick Williams' Del Mar home in 2013.
Part three of a three part series We love green roofs and everything they stand for at Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings. Green roofs are the only feature of a building that actually improves with age, and results in extended life expectancy of a roof. Based on 65-plus years of experience with green roofs in Germany, a green roof can be expected to double or triple (and more!) the life of the underlying conventional roof by protecting it from damage due to debris, UV radiation, and the expansion an contraction caused by changes in temperature. This in turn minimizes construction waste in our landfills.… Read More

Getting Waterwise in San Diego, Inside and Out

Bold Sanseviera plants in striking pots make a statement and improve the indoor environment without wasting water.
Part one of a three part series California’s drought and the need to conserve water in every way possible is a concern for everyone. Outdoor gardeners have been asked to do their part for a long time, and they are helping by getting rid of their thirsty lawns and other plants that require more water than our Mediterranean climate allows. But a lot of us don’t have yards or gardens, and our plants are all inside. Did you know that indoor plants need very little water? Good Earth Plant Company’s technicians water some plants less than once a month. Depending upon the size, variety and type of plants in your home or office, the total amount of water you use monthly should be 50 gallons or less.… Read More

You Need Space: Defend Yourself From Wildfire

Create defensible space around your home to protect yourself from the threat of wildfires.
San Diego County residents woke up to a red flag warning today. A red flag warning means critical fire weather conditions are either happening now or will shortly. Any fires that develop may spread quickly, according to the National Weather Service. Count on it being the first of many this year. Wildfire is a fact of life in Southern California, and for many other people in the United States. The current drought hitting so many areas including San Diego makes it even more important to be aware of the potential danger of wildfire. Your landscaping can play a critically important role in protecting your home and your property from being damaged or destroyed by wildfire.… Read More

Freaky Friday Orchids

White Egret Orchid (Habenaria Radiata)
Our most popular blog post of all time is our Monkey Faced Orchids post. You can’t get enough of our photos of orchids that look like monkey faces. They really do! Orchids, like all flowers, exist in nature to facilitate pollination to continue their species. Flowers develop over time to attract certain friendly insects and birds, and to repel others. Some welcome bees, some are perfect for hummingbirds. The result of this functional need are orchids that look like bees, birds, and people. Even their colors develop in a way to attract the most desirable pollinators with the message “Hey everyone, tasty nectar right here!”… Read More

Going Green is Lucky Every Day Including St. Patrick’s Day

The magic of the number three makes the shamrock a mystical, magical plant the symbol of a nation and its national holiday, St. Patrick's Day.
The shamrock plant is recognized as the badge for Ireland. You will find this symbol on almost everything Irish, from lampposts to tail fins of airplanes. It is a custom to pin a shamrock to the lapels of your jacket on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. The Celtic Druids attached much significance to the clover or shamrock, because they believed the number three to be a perfect number possessing a mystical power. The shamrock represents the Holy Trinity, and also signifies past, present and future. Through its symbolism, the shamrock has paved a path to Irish glory. It doesn’t matter if you gave or received shamrocks for St.… Read More

Get Your Food Closer to Home and Save the Planet

A drawing of the planned vertical farm in Jackson, Wyoming. Courtesy Vertical Harvest
Regular readers here know how much I love urban farming. Good Earth Plant Company employee Dawn Weatherford (thank you, Dawn!) tipped me off to one of the most exciting urban farming project I’ve ever seen and I wanted to share it with you. The startup company Vertical Harvest plans to turn an old industrial building in Jackson, Wyoming into a huge vertical farm. It will use a hydroponic system to grow vegetables like microgreens and tomatoes. The photos and description of what the company intends to do are eye-popping. The city of Jackson is partnering with Vertical Harvest to make this happen.… Read More

Going Gray(Water) The Safe Way

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?

“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

Tips for Saving Water Without Killing Your Plants

The living wall at SDG&E's Energy Innovation Center is filled with drought tolerant plants.
“Oh man, do we need it!” This is the sentence muttered by every San Diegan when discussing the topic of rain. This is California’s third consecutive dry year, and things are not looking bright for the future. We wrote about this issue in January, and here we are again because the conditions have yet to improve. In 2010, California put in a place a goal to have residents cut their water use by 20 percent by 2020. Many of you may be wondering, ‘How will I do this and not let all my plants die in the process?’ Good Earth Plant Company has four water saving tips for plant lovers.… Read More

Cleaning the Polluted Air: Easy as Planting a Tree

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