green roofs

You Deserve a Biophilic Break Today

| September 17, 2018 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing
When I was 12, I played Pop Warner football. One of the kids on the team had an agent and was asked to pick five kids from the team to help do a special part of a McDonald’s TV commercial. They divided the entire team in half, gave us different colored jerseys, and created the White Jersey Team vs. the Black Jersey Team. The score was Black 12, White 7 with only seconds to go. Ronald McDonald showed up in the huddle to save the day and was both quarterback and receiver – throwing himself a pass down field (trick photography) and scoring the winning touchdown as time ran out.… Read More

Green Roofs Could Save San Diego Enough Tax Money To Fix our Streets

| April 5, 2018 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
We need urban and suburban parks to insure all San Diego residents are within walking distance of nature. Photo: Nathan Rupert/Creative Commons fix our streets
Sometimes I wonder why I read the news, because it can be depressing. I guess because it’s a relief none of my own problems ever make it into the San Diego Union-Tribune or on local TV. If they did, I’d know I’m having a REALLY bad day. A few recent stories in the news were a serious downer for this Eco-Warrior. In the first one, a report by the City of San Diego ran down our infrastructure funding gap. This is the money we don’t have to fix our streets, sidewalks, lights, traffic signals, and such. The one that got my attention was the $243 million we need to fund local parks.… Read More

Hey Denver, Call Good Earth Plant Company About Your Green Roofs

| March 8, 2018 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Green Roofs
Hey Denver, Good Earth Plant Company has over a decade of experience with green roofs. This photo was taken on the first anniversary of our roof in March 2008.
The smart voters of Denver, Colorado are the first voters to pass their own Green Roof Initiative. It passed with 54 percent of the vote. The new city ordinance requires any building with more than 25,000 square feet of gross floor area under the roof to include green spaces. Fantastic! But trust elected officials and civil servents to screw up even the best idea. Four months later there is a crazy amount of handwringing going on over how to make the new ordinance “work.” The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment has formed a review task fore including initiative supporters, water and power authorities, and “green roof experts.”… Read More

Jim Mumford Featured in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine

| February 8, 2018 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Living Walls, Media Coverage, Moss Walls
Our Eco-Warrior in Chief, Founder and President of Good Earth Plant Company Jim Mumford, is featured in the February 2018 issue of the award-winning San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine. Jim participated in the “Dialogue” feature, a question and answer interview about his background as a plantscaper, Certified Landscape Professional and Green Roof Professional; his San Diego based business and its history; his living wall, green roof, and moss wall projects; and his advocacy for the WELL Building Standard and implementing the principles of biophilia and biophilic design in our every day lives where we live, work, and play. You can read the interview below.… 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

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

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

Why Aren’t There More Green Roofs in San Diego?

| September 6, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs
In many cities, green roofs are a growing part of the urban landscape.  The benefits are undeniable and substantial. Green roofs solve so many problems in the urban environment: preventing stormwater runoff, reducing the urban heat island effect, reducing heating and cooling costs, soundproofing, adding habitat for pollinators and birds, and cleaning the air to name a few. The city of Toronto, Canada was the first to mandate green roofs on industrial and residential buildings in 2009. Effective earlier this year, France became the first nation to require at least partial coverage with either green roofs or solar energy technology (or a combination of both) on all new construction.… 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

Serving Up a Summer Blog Salad

| July 20, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
So many plant related news items cross my desk that make me say “huh” or “really?” or “wow.” Or “you’ve got to be (kidding) me!” I had to clean up that sentence using “kidding” for our family-friendly blog but you get the idea. Let me catch you up on a few of them while I’m filling my own brain at the annual Cultivate 17 conference in Columbus, Ohio. Using Vinegar On Plants During a Drought In Japan, scientists say they’ve created greater tolerance for drought conditions in plants by growing them in vinegar. Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science conducted their tests on the Arabidopsis plant, which is called Thale cress.… Read More