biophilia

Nature Is Still Open

| March 18, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
The South American Clivia plant in my yard is in full bloom! Photo: Jim Mumford
Has it only been a week since my last blog post? Since then, schools, stores, restaurants, bars, gyms, and many workplaces have closed down to try and stop the coronavirus pandemic from spreading. California residents like me and many other Americans are being asked to shelter in place. We are asked to stay at home except to “provide or receive essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential business or government services.” For those few clients that allow us, we consider their plants and asset worth protecting and we are watering them. You can pick up groceries and prescriptions, take your dog to the vet, or put your trash out for collection.… Read More

Let’s Clear the Air

| March 11, 2020 | Categories: Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
In the plantscaping business, we've always been concerned about clean indoor enviroments. Photo: Mylene2401/Pixabay
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

Top Biophilic and Nature Design Trends for the Roaring 20s

| January 8, 2020 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Moss Walls, Sustainable Living
Pink flamingo lawn ornaments were invented in 1957. The first one had a name: Diego! Photo: Lena Svensson, Pixabay
The start of a new year would not exist the same way without the human creation of the calendar, but Nature would still let us know it’s the start of a new cycle as the days begin to slowly grow longer heading toward spring. We also feel these natural rhythms going into our 44th year in business (wow!) at Good Earth Plant Company. We look forward to seeing what’s new in our world, along with clever twists on old ideas, plus brand new concepts. We love recycling. Based on what we’re seeing and conversations with our colleagues and our customers, we’re looking forward to the following Top Plantscaping and natural design trends to start the decade of the Roaring 20s returned in 2020.… Read More

Time to Let It Shine

| December 17, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
When you live in San Diego, you've got plenty of sunshine during the shorter winter days to enjoy for good health. Photo: Monica Volpin, Pixabay
Are you feeling a little blue? You might be tempted to blame it on the hectic nature of the holidays, or seeing too much political talk on TV or social media. But it might not be the only reason you aren’t your usual cheerful self. Several weeks ago, we went through our annual change back from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the United States. Just the one hour of difference means most people are going home from work in the dark, and it also makes us aware we are slowly losing daylight a few minutes at a time until we reach the winter solstice this Saturday, December 21.… Read More

Turn Black Friday into Green Friday This Year

| November 20, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
#OptOutside Good Earth Plant Company Thanksgiving Sustainability Living Walls Plants
For five years in a row now, REI has closed its stores on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. It processes no online sales and it paid all its 12,000 employees to spend the day outside with friends and family. How big is Black Friday? It is routinely one of the largest U.S. shopping days, both in stores and online. Adobe Digital Insights Inc. estimates that the single day in 2018 brought in $6.2 billion in online sales in the U.S. We’re completely into the #OptOutside concept at Good Earth Plant Company – we caught on in year number two and told you about it back then.… Read More

Not Your Garden Variety Session at San Diego Green Week’s 2019 Conference & Expo

| October 10, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Jim Mumford will participate in a panel discussion as part of the San Diego Green Building Council's Conference & Expo Oct. 18. Info and registration: http://www.sd-gbc.org
Good Earth Plant Company’s Jim Mumford featured on panel discussion planting seeds about the benefits of incorporating nature into building projects. SAN DIEGO, Calif. (October 10, 2019) – Dozens of studies demonstrate the benefits of incorporating nature into building design to human health and wellness, but doing so is still often seen as a luxury. Jim Mumford has spent more than 40 years working to change this perception. As part of the San Diego Green Building Council’s (SDGBC) 2019 Conference & Expo on Friday, Oct. 18, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Good Earth Plant Company owner and founder Jim Mumford, CLP, GRP, will join Calina Ferraro, PE, CPD, LEED AP, WELL Accredited Professional, Principal, Integral Group Design Studio; and Jennifer Montgomery, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP, Asociate, Schmidt Design Group for “Not Your Garden Variety Design: Optimizing Building Integrated Vegetation.”… Read More

Next Generation of Eco-Warriors Leads the Way

| October 9, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The next generation of Eco-Warriors paid a visit to Good Earth Plant Company.
Recently, a group of fifth grade students from a San Diego area private school visited Good Earth Plant Company as part of their after school program, the extra-curricular “Lego Robotics Club.” Kids in the club were tasked with identifying a local problem in their city, and then exploring possible solutions. The students decided to focus on the diminishing tree canopy within the city. This is something we’ve also been concerned about, and have written about here on the Good Earth blog. According to the team’s adult leader, Noel Kim, the team is competing for the first time in the “First Lego League” (FLL) Robotics Competition.… Read More

Good Day Sunshine! Jump Start Your Day Naturally

| October 2, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
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

Survey Says: The Younger Generation Digs Gardening

| September 25, 2019 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Surrounded by some of my 50 plants at home! Jim Mumford Good Earth Plant Company houseplants indoor plants
When you think about gardening, do you picture your grandmother tending her rose garden? Maybe a retired neighbor mowing his lush lawn? According to the National Gardening Survey, the typical gardener and plant enthusiast is much younger and isn’t living in the suburbs. In the 2019 version of this annual survey presented every year at the American Horticulture Association’s Cultivate conference (which I attend every single year), 38 percent of adults age 18 to 34 plan to spend more on lawn and garden activities in 2019, compared to the overall average of 29 percent for all age groups. Yes, plants are trending and cool and we could not be happier at Good Earth Plant Company!… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company’s Summer Reading List – Naturally!

| August 14, 2019 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Summer is the perfect time to read a new nature book and get inspired. Photo: Erika Wittlieb / Pixabay
Science shows us getting out and enjoying the benefits of nature will make us healthier. Reading about nature isn’t a bad idea either. How about reading a book about nature at your favorite outdoor spot? Maybe it’s the beach; maybe it’s the park. Maybe it’s a hammock in your backyard. It doesn’t matter. And we just happen to have some of our favorite nature books for you here to enjoy this summer.  Choose any of them, and then choose your favorite spot. Your Guide to Forest Bathing Amos Clifford Amos Clifford is the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs.… Read More