green roofs

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

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

TEDx Youth Talk by Jim Mumford: Living architecture

| February 18, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Media Coverage
Sharing beautiful images and a compelling story about how his successful plantscaping business bloomed into a pioneering player in the burgeoning field of living architecture, Jim Mumford shows how uber-sleek depictions of futuristic cities are way off the mark. His talk to San Diego high school students on the theme of “Architects of the Future,” demonstrates how plants and metropolitan habitats on walls, roofs, patios at work and at home will bring nature into our lives even more in the future, not less. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.… Read More

Urban Heat Island Effect Bigger Than We Thought

| February 5, 2013 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Remember when the terms “Global Warming” and “Climate Change” were first mentioned? Now it’s commonplace. I just read how a research meteorologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is suggesting that big cities in North America and Asia may generate enough heat to warm areas  as far north as Canada and Siberia as much as 1.8 degrees. In general, the heat gathered from the urban heat island effect rises and travels upwards and its energy may change high-altitude currents in the atmosphere that dictate prevailing weather. Meteorologists have known that cities are warmer than rural areas with cars, buildings, asphalt and roofs that absorb heat.… Read More

Rainwater Harvesting Tips

| January 24, 2013 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
With the upcoming storm we though we would share some information with you on rainwater harvesting, courtesy of GreenScaped Buildings Project Manager Kevin Norton. Rainwater is typically used to supplement potable water for landscape watering. By capturing large amounts of rainwater you can guarantee your potable water use during the driest months will be a minimum in comparison to your current water usage. Rainwater is best used for lawns, flowers and vegetable gardens. In drought stricken areas like Australia and San Diego, rainwater is used to supplement typical household water uses like laundry, then it is “re-purposed” as greywater to the landscape.… Read More

4 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Plantscaper

| July 16, 2012 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
What you don’t know can really cost you the green! No matter where you stand on the great outsource-insource debate, it is abundantly clear that most businesses in San Diego, don’t want to add interior plant design and plant maintenance to their list of in-house services—much less add it to the job description of an employee who may turn your greenery into compost! Some things are just better left to the professionals—especially those with a green thumb! But how do you know which professionals will give you the best green for your green? Good Earth Plants services many clients in San Diego and southern California who have shared their stories of plants gone wild, or more accurately, splash and dash companies masquerading as plantscaping companies.… Read More

Innovator seeks to educate about green roof movement – San Diego Daily Transcript

| February 24, 2012 | Categories: Green Roofs, Media Coverage
If you visit Good Earth Plant Company Inc. and GreenScaped Buildings president and owner Jim Mumford’s office, you will notice two things: plants hanging from and growing on walls, and plants growing from the roof. Mumford has built a reputation for renting, installing and maintaining of plants, green roofs and green walls and has been doing so in San Diego and across Southern California for more than 20 years. Chances are you have seen or heard about his work, as he is one of the few who does these types of installations in the county. Mumford’s work has been published and broadcast in several newspapers and television stations over the years, and his companies have completed more than 16 green roof projects and numerous green walls and plant fixtures for corporate clients and private residents.… Read More

Business owner also known as eco entrepreneur – San Diego Daily Transcript

| December 30, 2011 | Categories: Media Coverage, Sustainable Living
In business since 1977, Jim Mumford has had plenty of time to figure out what he wants his company to stand for. That said, the past 12 months have gone a long way in defining Good Earth Plant Co. What began as a general flower shop set up by Mumford at the age of 20 is today one of the few places around San Diego that companies and individuals turn to when looking to turn their homes and offices into sustainable green spaces. Finding practical ways to put plants in new and interesting places has changed the business model to where Mumford has added a second arm: Greenscaped Buildings.… Read More

Meet East County’s Eco-Warrior Jim Mumford – East County Magazine

| May 8, 2010 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Media Coverage, Nature and Wellbeing
First came green roofs; now edible walls join pioneering urban farming trends May 8, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) — Plenty of people told Jim Mumford he was nuts building a green roof project in the middle of a Kearny Mesa industrial park. Three years later, the roof is thriving and Mumford’s GreenScaped Buildings is a pioneering venture and he’s earned a reputation as leader in this segment of the green building industry. Read more: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/3267

Here We Grow – Pacifica San Diego Magazine

| April 24, 2010 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Green Roofs, Media Coverage
When there’s no space on the ground, Jim Mumford plants on the walls and the roof. His Kearny Mesa-based company, Good Earth Plant Company, has been providing plantscaping services for San Diego homeowners and businesses for more than 30 years. Today, Mumford’s new venture, GreenScaped Buildings, also creates “green roofs” and “living walls,” giving life to otherwise inanimate objects. Read more: http://www.pacificsandiego.com/2010/04/24/here-we-grow/