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.

 

The Price of Nature: What Is A Green View Worth?

| April 15, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
Right up there with the San Diego Padres, the biggest talk in town this spring is the real estate market. Prices have always been at a premium due to San Diego’s location and weather. But now, they seem completely out of control. Real estate is one of the few things you can buy that doesn’t drop in value. One of the most important things you can do to increase the value is landscaping. It’s among the few home improvements you can make with a nearly immediate return on investment – and it only gets better as your landscaping matures. Think about the bathroom or kitchen you remodeled 10 or 15 years ago.… Read More

Plants Matter: Our Ten Reasons Why

| April 7, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
From avocados to zucchini, plants are the basis for all foods humans consume. Photo: Any Lane/Pexels Plants Matter
Food Are you reading this over a meal or snack? Without plants, forget having anything to eat. Every single one of the calories in proteins, fats, and carbohydrates we consume comes from plants. Yes, this includes meat, because animals we consume as food eat plants. Plants use the energy created from photosynthesis to convert carbon-dioxide to complex molecules animals including people eat for food. It hardly gets more basic than this! But we have nine more reasons to go. Oxygen Hold your breath. You probably can’t do it for more than a few minutes. Life on Earth depends on oxygen, and that oxygen comes mostly from plants, which generate oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis.… Read More

Our Favorite Holiday Is Here! Celebrate Biophilia on St. Patrick’s Day with Good Earth Plant Company

| March 16, 2021 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing
Our friend Stumpy, who lives in Jim Mumford's yard, is excited to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Photo: Jim Mumford
Most people say their favorite holiday is Christmas. Thanksgiving comes next, but Halloween has nearly caught up. Our favorite holiday didn’t even make the list! We’re here to celebrate OUR favorite holiday at Good Earth Plant Company. You don’t have to be Irish (or part Irish like me) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Think St. Patrick’s Day is all about cheers, beers, and parties? Think again! St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Nature. It’s the original Biophilic Holiday. We’ll explain. St. Patrick’s Day History  You may have Irish heritage like me, as many Americans do. Ireland has a long history of emigration.… Read More

Bring The Office Back to Life With Plants

| February 24, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Can it really be nearly a year since our world turned upside down because of a little spiky-looking virus? No one knew we’d still be trying to figure out how our future will look at the end of February 2021. We’re grateful at Good Earth Plant Company to be thriving and helping our clients to embrace the healthy approach to the way we work and live with biophilic design. Long before the coronavirus pandemic back in 1977 when I opened my first flower stand in downtown San Diego, it’s been my passion to enrich peoples’ lives by adding nature using plants.… Read More

Planting Seeds During Black History Month

| February 3, 2021 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Mother Nature is diverse, inclusive, and accessible. It’s only when human beings get involved that we put up barriers due to systemic racism. It’s important to us at Good Earth Plant Company to use our platform to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to horticulture and gardening during Black History Month 2021. Here are some of our favorite resources for you to explore this topic with us, and we know you’ll be inspired as much as we are. Black agriculture pioneers: Most people know the name George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver was an agricultural scientist at Tuskegee University in Alabama. By the time of his death in 1943 he was the single most important Black scientist of the 20th Century.… Read More

New for You: Good Earth Plant Company’s First White Paper

| January 27, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Where would YOU rathr work? Our new white paper is optimistic about the future of the American office. Cover: Silverado Roundtable
Why was I crazy enough to tackle a white paper in the middle of a pandemic? When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world over a year ago, Good Earth Plant Company wondered how it would affect our clients and us. We found out the need for nature was greater than ever. After we got past the shock of the first few months and started looking toward the future, it seemed obvious the need for biophilic design and nature in our workplaces and gathering spaces would be greater than ever for our health and wellbeing. But no one was really talking about it.… Read More

Nature Naturally Leads 2021 Top Design Trends

| January 13, 2021 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Our project for Deloitte features indoor plants as design elements. Photo: Jim Mumford
Nature lets us know it’s the start of a new year, even without a paper calendar. Our journey toward spring begins as the days slowly grow longer and warmer, although it’s a pretty subtle change at our home base in San Diego. It only makes you look a little harder and become more aware. It also means it’s time for the Eco Warriors at Good Earth Plant Company to predict the 2021 top trends in plant styling and biophilic design trends for the year ahead. But this year isn’t like any other year. We are still reeling from a year like no other we’ve experienced going into our 44th (WOW!)… Read More

Christmas Tree Trivia by Good Earth Plant Company

| December 22, 2020 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
How much do you know about Christmas tree trivia? Find out in our blog post!
Whether you choose a real fresh cut tree or an artificial tree, the tradition of having a Christmas tree is a wonderful example of biophilia and biophilic design. Especially in places where people need to stay inside during the winter out of the cold, bringing plants inside feeds our biological connection to Nature. We’ve discussed the pros and cons of living vs. artificial trees before, and you’re welcome to review the reasons here. Whichever you are #TeamReal or #TeamFake this year EVERYONE is staying inside more due to the coronavirus pandemic. People eagerly put up their Christmas decorations and trees early and doubled down on their efforts.… Read More

Time For Thanks At Good Earth Plant Company – Thanksgiving 2020 Edition

| November 24, 2020 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Who knew when I took this photo back in January 2020 what the year would bring? But we made it - Happy Thanksgiving 2020! Photo: Jim Mumford
Thanksgiving 2020 has arrived, and I’m so glad for the break. I’m sure you are too. What a crazy year! And amazing as it seems, it felt like it went by faster than ever. Let the holiday season begin by telling the people in your life how thankful you are for their presence in your life. And I’m thankful I have a platform like this blog to say so in public! I’m thankful for: I’m starting with my work family. Honestly, I spend a lot more time with them than anyone else, other than myself. I’ll begin with established rock star Erin, our Office Manager.… Read More

Six Nature Videos to Savor From Good Earth Plant Company

| November 18, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
The amazing, awe-inspiring Ōhaupō Tree Church In New Zealand is made from living trees. Photo: The Ōhaupō TreeChurch
We love nature videos. We post them from time to time on our Good Earth Plant Company Facebook page (and we hope you’re following us). I’m guessing you might have a little extra time this week? So we decided to step aside from our usual blog format and share some of our favorites with you. Amazing Amazonia In 2018, my son Ted and I took a trip through the Pantanal region south of the Amazon forest in Brazil. Talk about being immersed in nature! So I was thrilled when one of my favorite YouTube channels, Conservation International, produced a video a few weeks ago on the Amazon.… Read More