living walls

Living Walls: A Low-Water Use Landscaping Option

| May 14, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Water and Water Conservation
Sometimes square pegs fit in round holes: a living wall on a curved surface.
Part two of a three part series Southern Californians are finally breaking their addition to lush green lawns. In the midst of a drought, the days of spraying drinking water on a lawn day after day to keep it looking good are over. Admit it, aren’t you glad at the thought of tossing your lawn mower for good? Some homeowners install a great deal of hardscaping elements in their yards, substituting patios and other decorative structures, with very few plants. While this is water efficient, it’s a little sad for me as a person who loves plants to see them disappearing from yards.… Read More

Going Green to Keep the Chargers in San Diego

| April 30, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Green Roofs, Sustainable Living
If we want to keep the Chargers in San Diego, time to think green.
The fate of the San Diego Chargers dominates the news these days. Even though we have been talking about a new stadium for 15 years, the situation became urgent when the clock started ticking down on proposals to the north in Los Angeles and in Carson to lure the team away from San Diego. It all boils down to money. How will we pay for a new stadium, wherever it ends up? We all know development could pay for it, but who wants to pave over more of the city or add more cars to the roads? No one’s gotten around to asking me, and that’s too bad because I have the perfect plan to keep the Chargers in town.… Read More

Pushing Nature Into Urban Planning with Living Walls

| March 12, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Pure Fitness living wall at the Westgate Hotel by GreenScaped Buildings
  The Downtown San Diego Partnership, the leading advocate for the revitalization and growth of downtown San Diego, recently offered this observation and it stopped me in my tracks: “For the first time in 100 years urban growth has outpaced suburban growth.” Assuming this is true, as an advocate for integrating nature into our everyday environment, I see opportunity. Think about the typical suburban environment. There are yards, parks, and other spaces where nature is present. Now think about the typical urban environment. It’s full of concrete, glass, shadows and hard surfaces, but not a lot of nature or plants. This means people like me need to push even harder to make sure nature is included in urban planning.… Read More

Get Your Food Closer to Home and Save the Planet

| February 26, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
A drawing of the planned vertical farm in Jackson, Wyoming. Courtesy Vertical Harvest
Regular readers here know how much I love urban farming. Good Earth Plant Company employee Dawn Weatherford (thank you, Dawn!) tipped me off to one of the most exciting urban farming project I’ve ever seen and I wanted to share it with you. The startup company Vertical Harvest plans to turn an old industrial building in Jackson, Wyoming into a huge vertical farm. It will use a hydroponic system to grow vegetables like microgreens and tomatoes. The photos and description of what the company intends to do are eye-popping. The city of Jackson is partnering with Vertical Harvest to make this happen.… Read More

News From Good Earth Plant Company: January 2015 Newsletter

| January 26, 2015 | Categories: Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Newsletters
Good Earth Plant Company Leaflet Newsletter
Click here to read the January 2015 edition of the Good Earth Plant Company Leaflet newsletter. Highlights this issue include: Read about our latest activities in the President’s Letter Learn about our latest featured projects See photos of living walls in Shanghai, China Check our Calendar for fun, informative green themed events in San Diego Get our newsletter delivered right to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter email list. Visit the home page of our website and scroll to the end of the page to provide us your email address.

Resolve to Get Connected in 2015

| January 22, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
My first plant selfie of the year at the TPIE show in Florida.
Happy New Year! Can you believe we are 15 years into a new century? I’m getting inspired at the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) in Florida, one of our hottest trade shows and conferences, literally. This group knows its audience well. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance in most of the U.S. to attend a trade show located in sunny south Florida in January? Back home they would be shoveling snow and only dreaming of the warm weather ahead. I’m motivated by the opportunity to meet and learn from other like-minded people, including a meeting with members of the nonprofit group Green Plants for Green Buildings.… Read More

Beyond the Chia Pet: Plants Using Their Heads

| January 15, 2015 | Categories: Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
This plant head project from A Chef in the Garden looks like she is from the islands.
  Did you get a Chia Pet for Christmas? Chances are you or someone you know did, or maybe you’ve gotten one in the past.Would you believe 500,000 Chia Pets in all their versions including Sponge Bob, President Obama and Willie from Duck Dynasty have sold every year for over 30 years? That’s a lot of ch-ch-chia! The Chia Pet is even in the Smithsonian. True. There is something about the idea of turning plants into people that has intrigued gardeners and artists for decades. I confess I’m obsessed with plant heads and find myself collecting photos of the best. Lately I’ve been running across a lot of projects with this theme, and so I decided to use my head and share them with you.… Read More

Jim Mumford and Good Earth Plants in Entrepreneur Magazine, December 2014

| December 29, 2014 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Living Walls, Media Coverage
Entrepreneur Magazine has featured Good Earth Plant Company and a quote from Jim Mumford along with client Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group (B&BHG) about the living walls created for its Pizzeria Mozza restaurants in West Hollywood and Newport Beach. Entrepreneur Magazine including living walls as part of its Top Trends in Business for 2015. We agree! Read the feature article here.

Giving Thanks at Good Earth Plants and GreenScaped Buildings

| November 26, 2014 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
It is Thanksgiving 2014, and I’m thankful for many people in my life. I’m thankful for: My folks, they set a good standard and give me plenty to both admire and laugh about. Not that they’re perfect, don’t go getting ideas Mom and Dad. My son Ted: just enough of me to make me proud, just enough “other” to make him interesting. My daughter Allie: smart, capable and talented – getting ready to launch herself on the world. I hope we’re ready. My sister Monica, who has been with me since the beginning and is a huge help today. The rest of my family.… Read More

Always a Winner: San Diego’s Orchids and Onions Awards

| October 9, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Biophilic Design, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls
The Old Police Headquarters project Good Earth Plants worked on won an Orchid.
I had a great time at the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s “Orchids and Onions” event last week at the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park. It is hard to believe I haven’t missed this event in 20 years. One of the best things about the event is seeing industry friends and colleagues including Kelly Dixon, Richard Cox, Roger Lewis, Howard Blackson, Patricia Trauth, Glen Schmidt, Roger Lewis, David McCullough, and so many more of you. It was a blast! If you aren’t familiar with it, “Orchids and Onions” is a tongue in cheek fundraising program put on by the San Diego Architectural Foundation to provides interaction with the design community with the goal of educating and raising awareness among San Diegans about our built environment including its architecture, urban planning, landscapes architecture, and more.… Read More