Good Earth Plant Company

Plant A Garden, Add a Kid, Watch Them Grow!

| April 8, 2013 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company
Every now and then, I get a reality check when it comes to my kids. I am sure this happens to every parent…you’ll be driving along or just working through your day and something occurs to you about how different your own childhood was compared to your kids today. I remember long summer days when I was set loose with a PB&J sandwich and my bike (no helmet). Time was measured by light through the neighborhood trees and the sound of the Ice Cream truck. My acceptable range of travel was about nine blocks. I didn’t have a cell phone. I was expected home for dinner in reasonable condition at a reasonable time.… Read More

Our Spring Newsletter

| April 3, 2013 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Newsletters, Sustainable Living
March 19, 2013 In This Issue Upcoming Events Employee Spotlight Joke of the Month Quote of the Month Book a Lunch & Learn Upcoming Speaking Engagements Aquaponics at Good Earth Plants Open House Kevin’s Corner Featured Project Upcoming Events  Open House Plant Sale Reminder!!!  We have set the date for our Spring Open House and Plant Sale… This year it will be held on Friday April 19, 2013 from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. We will have many new displays including a fully functioning display of our new Aquaponics System We will also be selling LOTS of beautiful plants from Ficus to Ferns!… Read More

The Value of Appreciation

| March 26, 2013 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Sustainable Living
“People don’t work for wages only. They primarily seek an environment that will show them APPRECIATION, both publicly and privately. Wages come and go. As we travel through life, the most important memories we take with us are about how those who showed us Appreciation and Love.”—Rev. Ken Lanning, 1996. I love this quote. Reverend Ken is a stand-up guy who visits our office on occasion. Once I remember I was eager to show him our green roof, but wary of him getting up to the roof itself. I needn’t have worried though because just as I looked to find a more sturdy lift, there was Reverend Ken climbing a ladder at age 83 to see what all the hoopla was about with my roof.  … Read More

Jim Mumford’s Thoughts on Union-Tribune News Coverage

| March 19, 2013 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Media Coverage
Last Monday, I was thrilled to see the article on the front page of the Business section of U-T San Diego about our living walls and green roofs, with a large photo of me (above the fold) standing in front of one of our own living walls. There’s nothing like seeing your own grinning mug in the paper before you’ve had coffee on a Monday morning.  A friend and colleague in Arizona had already posted it on Facebook! I am happy that both our company names are mentioned (Good Earth Plants and Greenscaped Buildings) and that in a section labeled “learn more” gave details about our open house and plant sale coming up April 19.… Read More

Want A Garden On Your Wall? U-T San Diego, March 10, 2013

| March 10, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Living Walls, Media Coverage
If you’re over the potted-plant look and have some tax money to spend on your home or business, one thing to consider is a wall garden or green roof. This special niche in the landscaping world remains relatively unknown but has in recent years attracted big-time clients like celeb chef Mario Batali, SDG&E and Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley, a major regional mall in Southern California. The firm that served those clients and many more is Good Earth Plants, which evolved from a downtown San Diego plant kiosk to a warehouse space in Kearny Mesa. It also birthed sister company Greenscaped Buildings.… Read More

Our New Aquaponics System

| March 7, 2013 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening
When I saw the display of yellow daffodils at the grocery store the other day, I knew that winter was almost over and it was time for daylight savings and warmer days. That tells me that Spring is right around the corner. This spring, we are on an exciting journey to introduce new products to the Good Earth Plant and GreenScaped Buildings family.  Our new aquaponics project is starting small but we are hoping to be up to full-scale production soon. I met with Bill Toone, who runs a non-profit called ECOLIFE and was blown away by what he’s doing. Bill started his non-profit making rural stoves for those in Central Mexico whose health was suffering because of indoor cooking fires.… Read More

My TEDx Experience

| February 27, 2013 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Speaking with students is a prospect filled with questions: Will they be interested? Will I sound relevant? Is my topic “cool” enough? Is the word “cool” still “cool?” As I get older I find I look at youth and wonder if they go through the things I went through. Or have computers and social media changed us all so dramatically that it’s impossible for us to relate to each other? I was fortunate to be asked to speak at the TEDx Youth Conference last November and my 17 year old son Theodore attended the presentation. I had ten precious minutes to get everyone to think about plants and why they are important to us.  … Read More

Green Wall Business

| November 19, 2012 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls
We’ve seen a major shift in inquiries for green roofs projects to opportunities for living walls. Thankfully  we’ve been trialing and demonstrating living walls here at the office for the past four years. The lessons, tricks and idiosyncrasies we have learned are invaluable and have allowed us to not experiment at a client’s location. As such, I am not willing to install a new system that we have not sufficiently worked with to understand all of the possible challenges associated with that particular system.  I’m of the opinion that nearly anyone can install a beautiful green wall, only a select few of us can keep it looking that way for years.… Read More

The Walls are Alive and Growing at the Mall

| July 30, 2012 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Living Walls
Good Earth Plants and Greenscaped Buildings Will Complete the Final Phases of the New Colorful, Living Wall at Fashion Valley Mall Next Week – By Jim Mumford, President and Green Guru, Good Earth Plants and Greenscaped Buildings Starting August 6, we will be building the new Green Wall at San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall next to the new True Foods Restaurant and across the street from The Cheesecake Factory. I am thrilled to not only give the city of San Diego and the shoppers of Fashion Valley Mall something beautiful to look at, but also give all residents cleaner air to breath!… Read More

Selling Plantscaping to Upper Management

| July 23, 2012 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
6 Keys to Getting the Green-light to Green-Up Your Office As the Facilities or Operations Manager, your job is a delicate balance of keeping the company running smoothly and managing what seems like tighter and tighter budgets. Upper management expects you to ‘do more for less’ year after year and at some point, a priority needs to be made on the company workspace aesthetics and sustainability. After all, a well-heeled reception area and conference room can project an image of a company that prospects want to do business with and employees want to work for. Interior and exterior plantscaping is not just the “living art” that beautifies a space, it can also create a work environment that improves air quality, reduces absenteeism and increases both productivity and employee morale.… Read More