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.

 

Lighten Up: Good News In A Dark World

| November 4, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing
Increasing expsure to sunlight during the shorter days can improve your health. Photo: Pixabay daylight
Are you feeling a little disheartened? This week’s contentious presidential election is hard on everyone whether you voted red OR blue. Coming on top of an especially rough year, it’s not a surprise if your mental health isn’t what it used to be. But don’t go blaming 2020 for your problems just yet. It might not be the only reason you aren’t your usual cheerful self. The weekend before Election Day, we went through our annual change back from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the United States. The 60 minutes we adjusted our clocks suddenly makes us aware we are slowly losing daylight.… Read More

Resimercial Movement: Real and Here to Stay

| October 15, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
The resimercial workplace of the future is likely to look more like this than the open office or cubicle farm. Photo: Iva Balk/Pixabay
I have always wanted to start a blog post this way. “Don’t you hate it when…” Don’t you hate it when people smash two words together to make another new word? It’s lazy. The words are always awkward. Athleisure. Brangelina. Resimercial. You probably know the first two words, but I bet “resimercial” is new to you. Resimercial is catching hold and it looks like it’s going to stick just like athleisure for a lot of the same reasons. It’s comfortable, and it fits. FYI: for those who don’t know it, “athleisure” is traditional athletic clothing like yoga pants which are now acceptable leisure wear.… Read More

#StayPlanted with Purpose

| August 26, 2020 | Categories: Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Our donated plants find new homes with the new residents of the Alpha Project's brand new residence in Imperial Beach. #StayPlanted
This week, Good Earth Plant Company worked on one of its favorite assignments for the Alpha Project. A brand new Alpha Project homeless shelter opened in a completely renovated hotel in Imperial Beach.  It’s a safe and secure place focusing on housing families.  We provided a little extra plant love to warm up the new residences. We donated some of our client plant returns for common areas and hallways, and anywhere else Alpha Project wanted to put them. It gives us joy on so many levels. We re-home these plants where they can find a new purpose. It’s like adopting a new pet from a shelter.… Read More

Your Summer Solstice Resolution: Get Outside

| July 29, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing
Longer hours of daylight and warmer weather naturally draw us outside more to enjoy it. We’ve been telling you for years this is a GOOD thing (with hats and sunscreen handy). So I had to laugh just a little when I read the Wall Street Journal this week. In an article on its Career and Leadership page, it featured a “new trend” for the coronavirus age: finding ways to hold work meetings in person by – meeting outside. News flash! The article reports workplaces setting up meetings in all kinds of outdoor spaces like parks, beaches, or even in private yards where social distancing and masks allow people to meet safely and get away from their screens and Zoom.… Read More

Indoor Plants and Living Walls Are Essential Workers Too

| July 22, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Horticultural technician Sophie Gonzalez hard at work wearing the new custom mask she designed!
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, essential workers are those who conduct a range of operations and services that are typically “essential” to continue critical infrastructure operations. Critical infrastructure is a broad term including work sectors from energy to defense to agriculture. Most people think of law enforcement, firefighters, doctors and nurses, and other types of frontline first responders as essential workers. But hasn’t your definition changed over the past few months? I bet you’ll add grocery store workers, truck drivers, caregivers, and the people who make toilet paper to this list now. There are so many unsung heroes grinding away who make things work.… Read More

Let Parks Plant the Seeds for Social Equity

| July 8, 2020 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
Everyone needs a safe place to play in nature, especially our kids. Photo: Pexels
When I first started writing this blog in 2013, one of the first topics I wrote about was the concept of biophilia, the study of the connection between human beings and nature.  I’m sure people thought the idea was a little “out there.” We have come a long way in thinking about how nature affects our well being in that time. I’m now giving thought to the social equity issues surrounding nature in these times. July is National Park and Recreation Month, an initiative of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Park and recreation professionals promote a community’s health and well being through access to nature, green space, recreation, and fitness to create a lasting and positive impact on a community’s health and wellness.… Read More

Don’t Be A Buzz Kill! It’s National Pollinator Week

| June 24, 2020 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
We know you might be distracted by everything going on in the world, so give us a minute or two of your attention. The planet is counting on you. “National Pollinators Week” is officially here from June 22 – 28 and it’s worth taking just a few minutes to learn why it’s important to support pollinators and reverse a growing crisis for our planet. National Pollinators Week got started in 2006 through an official U.S. Senate resolution. That year, there was a mysterious loss of honey bee colonies in the United States. Pollinators are vital to 75 percent of the world’s food crops, from avocados to zucchini; and 90 percent of the world’s flowering plants.… Read More

Hot Tip: Add Humidity For A Healthier Office Space 

| June 17, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Could raising indoor air humidity by using plants help prevent the spread of COVID-19? Some scientists now think so. Photo: Daria Shevtsova / Pexels
Are you a little anxious about returning to the office? You aren’t alone.  Several polls show people worry about being exposed to the coronavirus when they go back to the workplace. Depending on the poll, 60 to 75 percent of people surveyed say they’re worried about this, and worried about being exposed by their co-workers. It’s enough to make a person want to work from home forever. But this isn’t always possible or even a good idea long term. We understand how much a healthy workspace can make a difference at Good Earth Plant Company. We have been working with clients to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees and visitors in all kinds of indoor spaces for more than four decades!… Read More

We Are Learning. We Are Listening. We Stand With You.

| June 9, 2020 | Categories: Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Two weeks after we learned about the shocking murder of George Floyd, and just days after his funeral, we all have a lot to think about, and a lot to account for. I’m usually not at all shy about speaking my mind. So it’s no surprise I have heard from people who’ve wondered when I might make a statement about this. But what do we have to add to the conversation at Good Earth Plant Company? Even well-intentioned words are so easily misplaced. As a white Boomer man, what do I have to say from my position of privilege about the racial upheaval in our country?… Read More

Be Like Nature, My Friend

| June 1, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
We have so much to learn from the resilience of Nature. Photo: Quinton Delman/Pixabay
Is 2020 over yet? The situation in our country and in our communities leaves me nearly speechless. It has been a rough year. First, the coronavirus hit. Second, the U.S. economy took a dive, causing unemployment so high it didn’t even seem real. Then, just as it seemed like we might get through the worse of the pandemic crisis, the senseless murder of an African-American man in Minneapolis set off a chain reaction across the U.S. of anger and hurt, including in my home town — specifically the city of La Mesa, California. Many people staged peaceful protests. Some senseless opportunists used the protests as cover to pillage innocent business owners and communities.… Read More