Jim Mumford

It’s Natural Good Earth Plants Loves the Start of Spring

| March 23, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Sometimes when you live in San Diego, you don’t take notice of the change in seasons. It’s not all that obvious when we move from spring to summer, or summer to fall. We don’t see spring when the cherry blossoms bloom like in Washington D.C. So if the first day of spring this year got by you on the calendar last Sunday in San Diego, it’s understandable. But if you look, you will find new growth and flowers that only bloom this time of year. Chances are though you know it’s spring from some undeniable internal signals. For one thing, we have more daylight.… Read More

The Good Earth Plant Way on St. Patrick’s Day

| March 17, 2016 | Categories: Biophilia, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
The magic of the number three makes the shamrock a mystical, magical plant the symbol of a nation and its national holiday, St. Patrick's Day.
Thirty six million Americans claim at least a little bit of Irish ancestry, myself included. Over 80 million people worldwide claim an Irish family connection. No wonder St. Patrick’s Day is more popular outside Ireland: the total population of the country is just 4.8 million people. We love St. Patrick’s Day at Good Earth Plant Company, because it’s all about the green! Anything that gets people thinking green and about plants is something we support, whether we are Irish or not. The truth is that blue was the color traditionally associated with Ireland, and the color most often connected with the real St.… Read More

Catch Up With Top Reader Recommended Blog Posts

| March 9, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Newsletters, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Catch up with our top blog posts so far for 2016 on topics including stormwater pollution, nature and well-being, and how to recognize and treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you aren’t receiving our newsletter, sign up here on our home page. We don’t sell your information or spam you, and you can unsubscribe anytime. We don’t like spam either!  

Let’s Make San Diego A Biophilia Hub

| March 2, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Leaders from 40 of the best large gardens in North America came to San Diego last week for the Directors of Large Gardens Conference at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas. When I opened my San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday, I was glad to see an article about the meeting by reporter Phil Diehl, and I especially loved the headline:  “Stressed? You may need some nature.” Right up my alley. It’s worth reading. As many good things as the article covered, there were so many other great topics it couldn’t fit in. Many are the things we write about here in this blog: biophilia, bioinspiration, biomimicry, author Richard Louv’s concept of “nature deficit disorder,” the new Wellbeing Standards – I could go on.… Read More

Explore What’s New at Good Earth Plant Company’s Spring Open House

| February 29, 2016 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
Come tour our Living Lab at the Good Earth Plant Company Spring 2016 Open House on May 6.
You’re invited to come see what Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings has to offer at our Spring Open House and Plant Sale on Friday, May 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. See the latest green roof and living wall technology, check out edible gardens, a small aquaponic systems and exciting new innovations at our living lab in Kearny Mesa. Ask questions and see if you can stump our experts! We also offer the opportunity to purchase nursery grade plants and pots at unbelievably discounted prices. There is no cost, but please RSVP to alexa@goodearthplants.com Everyone on our guest list will receive a free plant at the door.… Read More

Sharing My Super Power With You

| February 25, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Plantscaping
Jim Mumford, AKA the Eco-Warrior Photoshop artwork by Theodore Mumford
Mary Golden of the Golden Group recently interviewed me for a Plantscaping industry blog, and the result was published earlier this week. It gave me an opportunity to talk about some of my favorite topics, the same ones I write about here: Biophilia, innovations in living walls like the spectacular wall in the Birmingham, Alabama airport, and the future of our business. Mary asked me a question I didn’t expect: What is your super power? I gave her this answer: “It’s a combination – being engaged in; my industry, the community, developers, architects and designers, paying attention, watching for opportunity and perseverance.… Read More

Good Earth Plants’ Ten Most Popular Blog Topics

| February 18, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Find out which of our nearly 200 Good Earth Plant Company blog posts made our Top Ten List.
When you are in business it’s vital to listen to feedback from your clients to learn what’s working, what’s not working, and where you can improve. Let me tell you, sometimes it can be painful! But it is necessary. When I first started as a florist in the Plantscaping industry nearly four decades ago, we didn’t have any posts, tweets, snaps or chats to help us gather feedback. We had to get it the old fashioned way – by actually talking to people. In person! I won’t claim I walked several miles uphill through the snow to do it. Today, there is no excuse for anyone in business not to make at least a minimum effort to gather feedback and use it to improve products and services.… Read More

Nature’s Answers: Cockroaches to the Rescue!

| February 11, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants
This super robotic roach is grabbing headlines around the world. It's a perfect example of the power of biomimicry to solve our greatest challenges. Photo: Courtesy UC Berkeley
Nobody loves cockroaches, except another cockroach. But you have to admire how tough they are. We joke about roaches being able to survive a nuclear blast. Who wouldn’t consider this the ultimate survival skill? Scientists at the University of California Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Laboratory made news this week with reports about their work with the X2-VelociRoACH, a robotic cockroach designed for its ability to nimbly navigate difficult terrain. These robots could be outfitted with small cameras and GPS to help locate victims in collapsed buildings after earthquakes and in other similar situations too dangerous to send in people or search dogs.… Read More

Super Bowl 50 is Super Eco-Friendly

| February 4, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls
Standard compliant structures in the world. Photo: Courtesy Levi's Stadium website
Super Bowl 50 is just days away. Are you rooting for the Broncos or the Panthers? Or are you tuning in for the commercials, not the game? Looking forward to Coldplay and Beyonce? I’m excited about Super Bowl 50 because it is taking place in the first ever professional football stadium to be LEED Gold certified. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California is the most eco-friendly, sustainable stadium in the world today. Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, is a typical multi-purpose modern stadium that can host all sorts of events. What sets it apart starts at the top: the NRG Solar Terrace green roof on the west side of the stadium.… Read More

Tell Your Stress to Take a Walk in the Woods

| January 28, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Ward off the post-holiday blues or any kind of stress with Shinrin-yoku, the art of forest walking. Photo: Courtesy Wikipedia
We are nearly a month into 2016 already and the holidays seem like a distant memory. Many people are now dealing with the fallout from the holidays. We ate way too much We spent way too much. We overindulged in so many ways I won’t make you feel any worse by listing them all here. These things contribute to a mental hangover in January. Combine it with winter weather (yes, even in San Diego) and the negative effects of our poor planning and overspending sets in. Promising to practice moderation is fine for next year, but what can we do about all this stress now?… Read More