Nature and Wellbeing

We’ve dedicated more than four decades in the plant and flower business to nature and wellbeing. Our mission is enriching peoples’ lives with plants. Good Earth Plant Company has a greater appreciation for our wellbeing as we all do since the pandemic.

How do we improve the quality of our workplaces, our homes, and all the other indoor spaces where we spend the majority of our time? Can we clean the air? Remove toxins? Add oxygen and make ourselves healthier, happier, and more productive? Yes!

If we are not going to spend more time outside in nature, we have to bring nature INSIDE. We have to recreate living in nature the best way we can.

Ever wonder why you seem to have trouble concentrating on anything, or feel down more than seems normal? You may be suffering from a lack of Vitamin N (that’s “Nature”). You are feeling the lack of connection to nature and wellbeing, which we now study as biophilia, the innate tendency of human beings to find their place and their relationship with the natural world. People suffer from their lack of biophilic connection when they’re shut inside all day and night.

Adding plants to your indoor environment along with natural light and fresh air can go a long way toward improving your quality of life through the combination of nature and wellbeing.

 

Explore Workplace Wellness at San Diego Workshop July 23

| June 24, 2015 | Categories: Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Can a workplace evolve to become a place where people are healthier after a day of work than when they arrive in the morning? Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings is pleased to support “Wellbeing @ Work,” a workshop on making workspaces healthier, more ergonomically friendly, and ultimately more effective by allowing people to work at their very best. The event takes place on Thursday, July 23, from 7:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the bkm OfficeWorks Showroom and is sponsored by Steelcase, the leading manufacturer of furniture for offices, hospitals, and classrooms. Human Resources Professionals, Risk & Safety Managers, Corporate Wellness Officers, Facilities Managers, Corporate Wellness Consultants and members of the San Diego design community are all encouraged to attend.… Read More

You Need Space: Defend Yourself From Wildfire

| April 16, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
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

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

| March 17, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
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

Ten Tips for an Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Dinner

| November 20, 2014 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
This turkey looks ready for a green Thanksgiving! How about you?
Use reusable plates, glasses and napkins. Yes, get out the good china, and skip the paper or (yikes) Styrofoam plates. Even when you account for original production of ceramics and using water to clean the plates you come out ahead here. Use local and organic foods as much as possible. See what your local farmer’s market has to offer the week before Thanksgiving and get creative. Organic food is chemical-free, and promote biodiversity and better soil quality. Compost your scraps. The average American family wastes 600 pound of uneaten food every year. The least you can do is start a compost bin and make your scraps useful and your plants happy.… Read More

Mondays Not the Issue: Work May Make You Sick

| August 7, 2014 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
What if Peter's "case of the Mondays" was caused by working in a sick building? Photo credit: "Office Space," 20th Century Fox, 1999
Plenty of people joke that going to work makes them sick. But if you’re in a building with poor air quality, it’s not a joke. Work really IS making you sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that up to 30 percent of new and remodeled buildings have indoor air quality problems. There are plenty of reasons: poor building design, the activities going on inside like manufacturing processes, for example, poorly maintained heating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, harsh cleaners or pesticides, or indoor airborne contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are carbon-containing chemicals that can vaporize into the air inside a building, where occupants (like you) breathe them in.… Read More

The Top Ten Plants for Cleaning Your Air

| June 30, 2014 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
The sturdy Golden Pothos makes our Top Ten list. Photo: Elvis Ripley, Flickr
If you read our blog regularly (and we hope you are!), you know Good Earth Plants is always looking for new ways plants can benefit you. One of the most important ways is to keep the air in your interior environment at work and home cleaner. Plants work their magic in part by absorbing toxins into their leaves. When plants scrub these toxins out of the air by processing them through photosynthesis, you don’t process them by breathing them into your lungs. There isn’t another indoor environment with more concern about keeping its air clean than a space ship, space shuttle, or space station.… Read More

Wendy’s Gets What Green Means

| June 19, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Katelyn Hutchings in her green office at Good Earth Plant Company with over 200 plants.
You may be thinking, “Why is Good Earth Plants discussing a Wendy’s restaurant commercial? Don’t we get enough commercials in our lives!” I realize this is not like our typical posts, but Wendy’s is on to something we’ve talked about for a long time. In the new Wendy’s commercial for its “Summer in a bowl” salad, two women are eating the salads in their office. While they eat, the office begins to transform into a beautiful, green outdoor atmosphere. They love it! Wouldn’t you love to see your office turn inside out? See the commercial here: When you have plants in your office, the air quality improves. … Read More

Good Earth Plants has the Prescription for Sick Building Syndrome

| June 12, 2014 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
It's not rocket science, really: humble plants like this Pothos can improve worker productivity. Photo: Julien Gong Min
Many of us know what it’s like to work in an office in a city like San Diego. According to a study by global architecture firm HOK as reported in The Guardian newspaper, people in cities spend 90 percent of their time in artificial environments. A newly defined phenomenon in these work environments is referred to as Sick Building Syndrome.  The National Safety Council describes Sick Building Syndrome as a situation where individuals experience acute health effects linked to being inside a building. These symptoms include headaches; eye, nose, and throat irritation; a dry cough; dry or itchy skin; dizziness and nausea; difficulty in concentrating; fatigue; and sensitivity to odors.… Read More

Changed by Fire: Thriving After Disaster

| May 16, 2014 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Scenes from the Cocos fire. Courtesy NBC 7
Introduction: This blog post is not the normal bits of advice or inspiration about green building, plantscaping, or living walls. After the events of this week in San Diego and an unusually early start to what appears to be a long, hot summer and wildfire season to come, I couldn’t help but think about my own experiences surviving – and even thriving – after a wildfire. I wrote a lengthy journal entry about my experiences with a wildfire in 2003, when my own home was burned to the ground in the Cedar Fire. While many things were destroyed – including my marriage – new life literally did grow from the ashes, taking me in a direction I never could have imagined.… Read More

Find Outdoor Adventure In Your Own Backyard

| April 3, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
When we were young, finding new worlds to explore was easy. Just go out back into the canyons or woods, turn over some rocks, climb a few trees or visit the San Diego Zoo. Finding adventure as an adult is harder. Endless demands eat into precious daytime hours, leaving playtime lost to “more important” matters. When I read about a true modern-day adventurer I find myself green with envy. Take Dr. Marc Meyers of UCSD. This lucky guy is getting ready to head out on an adventure of a lifetime, one that nearly killed Teddy Roosevelt a century ago. Imagine a 1,500-mile expedition to South America traveling up the Amazon River studying the flora, fauna and the indigenous tribes you meet along the way.… Read More