Plantscaping
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
Be Like Nature, My Friend
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
Tips for New Plant Parents
First it was toilet paper and alcohol wipes. Then it was hair color, followed by flour and yeast.
During the coronavirus pandemic, people cleared the shelves of basic items they were desperate to find. Next, it was things they needed to entertain themselves, Who knew there would be a rush on baking bread at home? In the third wave, people looked around at their homes which were now also their offices and their kids’ schools and realized something important was missing.
House plants! They are flying off the shelves and out of the garden centers.
The National Gardening Association is fielding half a million questions a week from gardeners.… Read More
Post-Pandemic Office Life Can Be Exactly What You Needed
You may know the saying claiming the Chinese characters for the words “crisis” and “opportunity” are the same. Well, not exactly. If you do a little digging and read what modern Chinese speakers say, this isn’t correct.
There IS a popular saying in modern Chinese communities 危機就是轉機 which translates as “A crisis is also a turning point.” It’s possible over time these two ideas have merged. People are said to use this phrase to comfort or console someone who is in a very bad situation, whether it’s their fault or not.
If ever we needed consoling in a bad situation in modern times it’s now during the coronavirus pandemic.… Read More
Let’s Clear the Air
Chances are good you’re spending a lot more time indoors right now. But here is the reality: it’s nothing new.
Ongoing research by the Environmental Protection Agency reveals some shocking stats: Americans spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors. If you’re very young or older, you tend to spend even more time indoors.
There are a lot of reasons people are anxious about health issues today. But some of us have been concerned for a long time. Here’s why: indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than our air outdoors. This comes as a surprise to many people.… Read More
Plant Styling with Indoor Trees
Have you ever met a plant stylist?
Good Earth Plant Company and other businesses like ours have helped bring nature into our clients’ environments with plants and the principles of biophilic design for many years through professional plant care for offices and homes. The term in our industry for decades has been “plantscaping,” but it can be a little hard to explain sometimes.
Finally, I think we’ve found the right way to describe what we do: Plant Stylist! It’s getting attention thanks to this article in the New York Times last week.
Lots of people get addicted to indoor plants with small, easy to grow desktop choices.… Read More
Indoor Plant Trends Coming At You In 2020
We all have our New Year traditions. Mine involves traveling across the country to join my Plantscaping industry colleagues from 45 states and 37 different countries at the Tropical Plants International Expo, AKA TPIE.
It’s a blast for me to see all the new concepts and trends in indoor plant production, presentation, and design. There is so much to see, sometimes I worry whether my head might explode! (Spoiler – it didn’t happen).
When you have been in business four decades, you see certain concepts and ideas recycled from time to time. We love seeing great old ideas reinvented. We also see the creative use of new technology and new designs.… Read More
Good Earth Plants’ Top Ten Indoor Plant Care Myths
Unlike your indoor plants, some of these myths have been around a long time but they just won’t die. If you’re still thinking any of these plant care tips are true, we’re going to put a stake through them now and forever.
Myth #1: Put your brand new plants in a bigger pot right away to encourage them to grow
It seems like it would make sense. Giving a plant a chance to spread out its roots means it will grow bigger and faster, right? The truth is the opposite. Plants prefer having their roots completely filling out container space. When a plant senses it needs to fill out a bigger pot with new roots, it will divert its energy to the roots, not the stems, leaves, or blooms.… Read More
Don’t Hire Your Contractors Based on Fake News!
Earlier this week, I found myself getting completely frustrated by a Facebook “friend” trying to back up a political opinion with some pretty suspicious “facts.” This person claimed all the sources were legitimate. But when I checked them out and dug a little, they were all sketchy. Then I compared them to my own independent research, and there was no doubt. Fake news.
Yes, I know, as you’re reading this you’re thinking – “Hey Jim, don’t take stuff on Facebook so seriously.” I get it.
But like it or not, people get most of their news and information online these days.… Read More
Good Day Sunshine! Jump Start Your Day Naturally
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Hit the snooze button? Brush your teeth? Get some coffee? Check social media? Go to the gym?
A survey conducted by the consulting firm Deloitte isn’t much of a surprise. Forty-three percent of people check their phone within five minutes of waking up. Seventeen percent check immediately, some even before they get out of bed.
In a study of morning rituals by management expert Laura Vanderkam and Inc. Magazine, successful people start their day with water instead of coffee, exercise, work on either a priority business project or spend time on a personal passion project, spend time with family, meditate – and one-third say they make their beds every day.… Read More