Biophilic Design

Color Good Earth Plants Happy About the 2018 Color of the Year Choice

| January 4, 2018 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
The Pantone Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet. It's present in many natural examples, including these hyacinths. Photo: Creative Commons License
The Pantone Company decided to go big or go home with its 2018 “Color of the Year” choice. It’s now headline news when this American company best known for creating a universal color matching system names one color every December it thinks will be the hottest color trend for the year ahead. Last year’s choice was “Greenery.” Pantone describes it as a “cheery green shade” that evokes the first days of spring when nature and plants revive, restore, and renew. It’s the Good Earth Plant Company color of the year every year, so you know we loved it. This year’s choice could not be more different.… Read More

What’s On Your Mind?

| December 27, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
The holiday break always seems too short, doesn’t it! We’re too busy to complain about it though. The year is winding up with a green bang at Good Earth Plant Company. Maybe it’s our mild winter weather inspiring people, or maybe it’s awareness of our surroundings after seeing all of the recent wildfires. Whatever the reason, it’s been all hands on deck installing new projects testing our creativity: living walls, moss walls, colorful planters and succulents, holiday décor and even our first residential green roof all year, which we’ve been sharing with you on our Facebook page. (Hint: Follow us here!)… Read More

Ten Secrets to Successful Workplace Design in 2018

| December 14, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Plantscaping
We get to see a lot of workplaces all year long, and we get to work with a lot of smart architects and interior designers creating the modern workplace. We also talk a lot about what the ideal workplace of the future SHOULD look like when I get together with my fellow interior plantscapers and WELL Building Standard advocates across the country. There are plenty of studies where people have told us what they like, and also telling us what makes people more productive, more creative, and more content at work. With 2018 nearly on top of us (how did THIS happen?),… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company Show and Tell at the Mingei

| October 19, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Outside of my family of course, there isn’t much I love more than bringing nature and plants into places people work, live, and play. I’m still just as enthusiastic about my mission as I was when I bought my original bucket stand selling flowers and then plants downtown nearly 40 years ago. What comes close is TALKING about the power of nature and plants to make our lives better. If a group of people invites me to come to their conference or meeting or program, they do not have to ask twice. I want people in the audience to walk away with a new way of appreciating nature and with some ideas for incorporating nature into their workplaces and homes.… Read More

Nature’s Way To Boost Employee Productivity

| September 28, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
American workers are known for their productivity, and while we aren’t number one on many lists, we remain in the top five overall on nearly all of them. So it’s kind of shocking to me to read the results of a Gallup Poll from June 2017 which found two-thirds of all employees in the United States say they are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work. These employees aren’t applying themselves. They are just getting by. Most of the time they are checked out. Presenteeism is a new term defining employees that are present, but not engaged. This is not a small thing.… Read More

Millennials Push Us To Green Up The Suburbs

| September 20, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Environment, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing
Three generations of Mumfords together at La Jolla Shores celebrating Mother's Day in better times, May 2016: (L to R) daughter Allie, Mom, and yours truly.
The Millennial Generation is full of pleasant surprises. No, I’m not being sarcastic! I know the Millennials pretty well through my son Ted and my daughter Allie, their friends, and plenty of my employees and colleagues I meet at conferences and meetings. It is a big mistake to stereotype Millennials or dismiss them. They are the largest single generation in the United States today, 75.4 million people between ages 20 and 36. There’s no way 75 million people are alike enough to agree on anything or act a certain way. But people follow trends and when that many people go in a particular direction, we need to pay attention.… Read More

Bringing the Green Road Show To You

| August 31, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
In the annual Chapman University Study on American Fears, the fear at the top never changes. In 2016, when people were asked about 79 different fears, giving a presentation is number one among personal fears, followed by heights and crawly things. Lowest: clowns. As my family, friends, and colleagues know all too well, this isn’t a problem for me now. It wasn’t always this way, but now I love to talk to groups of people. One of my favorite things is to give presentations on integrating nature into our every day lives. It’s a passion, not a phobia! (I don’t have a problem with heights creepy crawly bugs or snakes either).… Read More

In Business, Green is Good

| August 17, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
  When did you last spend time outdoors? You might think everyone is outside enjoying summer weather and school vacations.  In San Diego, there’s hardly a day all year when you can’t be outside in short sleeves (or less). Buried in a report by the Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 is this shocking statistic: people in industrialized countries include the U.S. and Europe  spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors. Specifically, people spend 93 percent of their time indoors, with anther five percent in transit in a car or public transportation, and just two percent outside. I’d like to think this number is lower in San Diego, but even if it’s 80 percent, it’s still a sobering reality.… Read More

Your Questions About Moss Walls Answered

| August 10, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Moss Walls, Plantscaping
Moss walls can fit in any space under conditions where a living wall isn’t feasible. Contact Good Earth Plants if we can add one to your office OR your home!We predicted two years ago in this blog moss walls would become the hottest trend in interior Plantscaping. Here’s the original post just to prove it. We had no idea how right we were! Moss walls are hotter than ever. They are the perfect alternative when a traditional green living wall isn’t feasible. In many ways, moss walls have significant advantages: they can be installed nearly anywhere at less cost, with zero maintenance.… Read More

Hiring an Interior Plantscaping Service?

| August 3, 2017 | Categories: Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Good Earth Plant horticultural technicians Carlos and Marco install plants at the Alpha Project in San Diego serving homeless..
You’ve admired or flat out envied the beautiful plants in other offices, and you’ve read all about the many benefits of interior Plantscaping. So you have decided it’s time to improve your business or organization’s workspaces and hire a professional to help you. You’ve made a great decision. Even if this wasn’t the way I’ve earned a living for close to 40 years, I’d be just as enthusiastic about all the benefits you, your employees, and your customers and guests will enjoy as a result. Now in addition to everything else on your plate at work, you’re probably wondering how exactly how to go about hiring the right company to create the perfect green spaces in your home, office or building.… Read More