Good Earth Plant Company Tips

The horticultural experts at Good Earth Plant Company have years of experience caring for plants and creating exceptional designs to enrich peoples’ lives with plants. Our experts generously share their advice with readers who want to improve their plant care methods to be more successful in helping their plants thrive and stay healthy.

Our website contains an extensive FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions section. The most common questions asked by clients are included in each section.  If you don’t see your question answered, we invite you to contact us.

Our award-winning blog page discusses new topics weekly. Our most popular blog posts share our best tips on plant selection, plant care, and interior design.

There are several simple design changes easily made in workspaces and homes. Call us biased, but the easiest, quickest, and most cost-efficient way is the addition of plants into your environment. Natural light, plants and vegetation, living walls, natural textures and materials, and views of nature  all provide a positive impact.

With our advice, anyone can learn the basics about taking care of their own indoor plants. We want everyone to enrich their lives with plants, whether or not you ever become a Good Earth Plant Company client. Their benefits are too great not to share. Living and working in an environment that includes plants reduces carbon dioxide levels and lowers stress.  Long-term benefits include increased productivity and reduced healthcare costs. More benefits are being discovered through research every day. When we learn about them, we promise to share our newest tips and advice with you.

Trees Are Nature’s Super Heroes

| September 12, 2018 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
In a previous life, I must have been some kind of animal that lives in a tree. I love all things trees. I always have. One of the very first blog posts I ever wrote was about the magic of tree houses in September 2013. Trees are at the top of my consciousness right now following my vacation trip to the Pantanal region of Brazil. It’s such a different experience being immersed in dense forests of trees, especially the amazing and unusual types of trees we saw in Brazil. Back at home in San Diego, I’ve been thinking just how valuable trees are to us in our hot, dry Mediterranean climate.… Read More

The 10 Best Movies About Nature

| August 30, 2018 | Categories: Case Studies, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
The dog days of summer are nearly over. But we won’t be clear of warm temperatures for a while, especially in San Diego. One of the best ways to beat the heat but still enjoy the outdoors is to watch a nature movie. Because of the work we do bringing nature into the places we work and live, we pay special attention to movies depicting the natural world around us. We’re not especially big fans of the “man versus nature” type movie. Think Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Revenant.” Nature can be harsh and threatening to human beings. What we are much more interested in seeing is the awe-inspiring scenery, science, and creatures, and the ways people relate to them.… Read More

You Would Be Less Stressed Out If You Were Out There

| August 2, 2018 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
You don't have to create the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Colombia to get the full benefits of gardening. Photo: Photoman/Creative Commons License
Feeling a little stressed out? Who isn’t! How stressed out are we? The American Psychological Association (APA) has been measuring American stress levels for ten years now. Surprise, surprise: According to a 2017 study by the APA, more Americans report stress affecting them. But most also admit they are not taking enough active measures to combat the effects of stress in their daily lives. Half the country’s employees say they feel stress in their jobs the majority of the work week (three days or more). ­­More than half of the nation’s workers report stress in their jobs three or more days a week.… Read More

Summer Indoor Plant Care Tips to Beat The Heat

| June 27, 2018 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Don't let your indoor plants get sunburned by strong sunlight through windows in the summer. Move them to a protected spot. Photo: Yanoch Kandreeva/Creative Commons License
We love summer, but sometimes the summer heat can be a little overwhelming. It’s the same for your indoor plants. Even when they are in an air-conditioned office or home, your indoor plants can suffer from the negative effects of summer heat. Don’t let your plants sweat it out this summer. Check out our summer indoor plant care tips. Protect your indoor plants from strong summer rays You put on sunscreen to keep the sun’s strong summer rays from causing sunburn. You need to protect your plants from sunburn, too. No, they aren’t going to the beach, but they can get extra doses of hot summer sunlight through south and west facing windows.… Read More

Hygge and Beyond: Latest Scandinavian Lifestyle Trends

| June 13, 2018 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Like a lot of Americans, the Danish approach to life called “hygge” got our attention. The word itself made the Oxford Dictionary’s list of most influential words of 2016, that’s how popular it was. Suddenly it seemed like everyone was interested in lighting candles and gathering around a cozy fire. Hygge is as central to Danish culture as flamenco dancing and tapas are to Spain, and teatime is to England. But it’s not the only lifestyle trend hitting America from Scandinavia. Suddenly there seems to be a wave of books and articles about the latest trend. Every country has its own version of “the good life.”… Read More

Should I Put My Indoor Plants Outside In the Rain?

| March 22, 2018 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
  It’s a question we don’t ask very often in San Diego County. But with a nice rainstorm predicted to last throughout the day, it’s an ideal time to explore this question. Why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of the rainfall to save water and give our indoor house plants a healthy drink and a good shower? The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it? In general, it is a good idea – but there are some pitfalls you need to know about and avoid. Good Reasons to Let Nature Water Your House Plants Rain coming straight out of the clouds to water your plants provides several benefits.… 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

Succulents Give You A Fighting Chance Against Wildfires

| December 21, 2017 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants
Watching wildfires burn across Southern California including close to home in the Bonsall and Fallbrook areas of San Diego County is sobering, especially for a wildfire survivor like me. Most of you know my own story: my home in the Muth Valley area of Lakeside in San Diego County burned to the ground in the Cedar Fire of 2003. I wrote about the experience in a journal shortly after it happened, and posted it to this blog page several years ago. You can read it here. The largest of the fires, the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, continues to burn and it’s likely to end up as the largest wildfire in California state history.… Read More

Ten Secrets to Successful Workplace Design in 2018

| December 14, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Plantscaping
We get to see a lot of workplaces all year long, and we get to work with a lot of smart architects and interior designers creating the modern workplace. We also talk a lot about what the ideal workplace of the future SHOULD look like when I get together with my fellow interior plantscapers and WELL Building Standard advocates across the country. There are plenty of studies where people have told us what they like, and also telling us what makes people more productive, more creative, and more content at work. With 2018 nearly on top of us (how did THIS happen?),… Read More

Adding Plants Isn’t Rocket Science, But It Should Be

| October 12, 2017 | Categories: Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Have you ever felt that post-lunchtime slump at work, around 2 p.m.? You probably blamed it on the California burrito you ate, or a morning coffee crash. The more likely culprit turns out to be carbon dioxide. A research study conducted earlier this year by Harvard, Syracuse, and SUNY Upstate Medical Universities studied office environments and determined the level of carbon dioxide in the average office environment reaches its daily peak around 2 p.m. The CO2 level of 1,000 parts per million is 2.5 times the level of carbon dioxide in the outside atmosphere. Read more about this study in the Harvard Business Journal.… Read More