biophilia

Get The Picture About Biophilic Design

| July 25, 2019 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Biophilic design is a trend transforming modern workplaces. Infographic: NewPro Containers and Green Plants for Green Buildings
Are you not entertained? We try to use the Good Earth Plant Company blog to provide information and educate people about plants, and do it in an entertaining way. Last week at the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego Chapter annual Journalism Awards, the Good Earth Plant Company blog was named the Best Digital Blog in San Diego County! Thank you SPJSD. You like us, you really like us! But we also recognize different people have different preferred ways of learning and absorbing information. Depending on which theory you prefer, there are either seven learning styles, or four. The VARK theory counts four: Visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic (learning by doing).… Read More

Grow or Die

| July 18, 2019 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
When you’ve been in business doing something for more than four decades, you probably think you’re pretty good at it. The mere act of surviving all the challenges running a business throws at you says it all. Plenty of people take their expertise for granted, though. That’s the kiss of death. The minute you think you know-it-all is the minute you don’t. I’m a firm believer in new knowledge and growth as one of the key ingredients to success in nearly anything. And why wouldn’t growth be at the heart of working in a green business like plantscaping and biophilic design?… Read More

The Best Sandwich I Ever Ate

| July 11, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
With the Bavarian Alps as your view, it's hard not to enjoy a picnic! Photo: Jim Mumford
Many people think the start of summer is Memorial Day weekend. The ‘official’ start to summer is the day of the Summer Solstice, June 20. For others, it doesn’t really feel like summer until the Fourth of July weekend. Whatever you think, summer is now in full swing. Summer means getting outdoors. Even though we have beautiful weather all year in San Diego compared to the rest of the U.S., the longer days and the relaxed attitude combine to draw us outside for more activities. One of those is cooking. Even someone with limited kitchen skills can turn out a great meal on a barbecue grill.  … Read More

My Blooming European Vacation

| May 30, 2019 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing
There's no way I could pass up a chance to check out this flower shop in Slovakia. Photo: Jim Mumford
In May, I had the luxury of spending a couple of weeks traveling through Eastern Europe on vacation with my family. It turned out to be more than just a good time. It was an education seeing how our European neighbors view the importance of integrating nature into their environment. Those lessons are well worth sharing – along with a few vacation photos to make the point! We began our river boat cruise in Budapest, Hungary, worked our way to Vienna, Austria and concluded our adventure in Germany. Europeans take climate change seriously. It’s a fact, it’s not a debate. They are doing their best to change their everyday practices to slow down the effects on the way to a full stop.… Read More

Expose Yourself to World Naked Gardening Day

| May 1, 2019 | Categories: Biophilia, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing
Barbie is on board! World Naked Gardening Day is on Saturday, May 4.
I first learned about “World Naked Gardening Day” two years ago. I thought for sure it was a joke played on me by some of my friends. What a surprise to find out it’s a real event, not just what I used to do when I lived in rural San Diego without neighbors close by. And it’s been going on for years. So I wrote a blog post about it. So the laugh is on me, because the original 2017 blog post about World Naked Gardening Day is one of our top most-read blog posts of ALL TIME.  Who knew so many people were interested in this phenomenon?… Read More

Go Green on St. Patrick’s Day – and Every Day

| March 13, 2019 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
You don’t have to be Irish (or part Irish like me) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday, March 17. We love any occasion focusing on things that are green! It’s more likely than not you possess some Irish heritage as part of your ethnic DNA. In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in Cork, Ireland and said “Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.” Ireland has a long history of emigration. If you were a Catholic or a Protestant from any denomination outside the Church of England, laws were harsh and the persecution was real and often fatal.… Read More

Pantone 2019 Color of the Year Sees the Light

| December 12, 2018 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Once again the beauty of Nature inspired the Pantone Color of the Year Choice for 2019: Living Coral. Photo: Ed Bierman/Creative Commons
It’s now headline news when the Pantone Company announces its annual choice for “Color of the Year” in early December. Good Earth Plant Company works with color so much, the choice gets our attention, especially the reasoning and psychology behind it. This year’s choice for 2019 is an eye-popping pink-toned orange called “Living Coral.” It’s straight out of the natural world. Yes, it’s bold, but we love it. Here’s what Pantone’s executive director Leslie Eiseman said about the “vibrant yet mellow” choice. “In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy.… Read More

Shhhh – Enjoy the Silence

| August 15, 2018 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
For the first half of August, my son Ted and I have been exploring the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands located in western Brazil. It is home to hundreds of species of birds, exotic animals including jaguars, capybaras, and caimans. My father Bob Mumford was supposed to accompany us, but he injured himself on a nature photography trip earlier this year to Mongolia. We held out hope, but my dad’s injury hadn’t healed enough to allow him to travel again. We miss you, Dad! You can see his work on his website. We had been planning this three generation trip to the Pantanal for nearly two years.… Read More

You Would Be Less Stressed Out If You Were Out There

| August 2, 2018 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
You don't have to create the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Colombia to get the full benefits of gardening. Photo: Photoman/Creative Commons License
Feeling a little stressed out? Who isn’t! How stressed out are we? The American Psychological Association (APA) has been measuring American stress levels for ten years now. Surprise, surprise: According to a 2017 study by the APA, more Americans report stress affecting them. But most also admit they are not taking enough active measures to combat the effects of stress in their daily lives. Half the country’s employees say they feel stress in their jobs the majority of the work week (three days or more). ­­More than half of the nation’s workers report stress in their jobs three or more days a week.… Read More

Is Nature In Your DNA?

| July 26, 2018 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Nature and Wellbeing
Can you learn to love nature? Or do you have to be born this way? Photo: RawPixel
My Aunt Nancy recently let family and friends know about an honor my cousin Kathy Mulvey received. (Thanks for ratting her out, Nancy!) Phillips Academy Andover, one of the oldest and most prestigious independent secondary schools in the U.S. based in Andover, Massachusetts, named Kathy one of its “20 Alumni Who Are Saving the Planet.” Kathy works for the Union of Concerned Scientists. Here’s what Andover wrote about her efforts: “Everything we value depends on the ecosystem and on people working tirelessly to prevent its destruction. Kathy Mulvey is the sharp end of the long-running debate on fossil fuels, taking some of the world’s largest companies to task on inadequate climate policies.… Read More