urban environment

It’s a Picnic Working at Good Earth Plants & GreenScaped Buildings

| September 11, 2014 | Categories: Blog, Good Earth Plant Company
The Frisbee golfers of Good Earth Plants & GreenScaped Buildings.
At Good Earth Plants and GreenScaped Buildings we know that you can’t have a great company without great employees. It is part of our value statement to have fun working together. At our annual company picnic this year, we took a little time off to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate what a great year it has been thanks to you, our customers. When we aren’t providing our clients with beautiful plants, living walls, and green roofs, we are all taking a break to refresh and regenerate, just as Nature intended. Morley Field in beautiful Balboa Park was the natural setting for our company picnic this year.… Read More

Price Drops Mean Green Roofs for All

| August 27, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Green Roofs
At Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings, we believe green roofs are beautiful, beneficial, and just overall wonderful.  But we know the cost is sometimes more than our clients had originally budgeted when they contact us.  We love providing our clients with the green roof of their dreams no matter the budget, and soon it will be a little easier to do so. As green roofs and other forms of Building-Integrated Vegetation become more popular, prices start to drop. For example, according to an article in Energy Management Today, by 2017 one of the major components of green roofs provided to us by our supplier Columbia Green Technologies will drop by 28 percent.… Read More

Flowers and World Peace: Why Not?

| August 15, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
“Sweet flowers alone can say what passion fears revealing.” – Thomas Hood Watch any news and you’ll see constant discussion on war in the Middle East. Perhaps things would be different if plants were involved. At Good Earth Plants, we think it couldn’t hurt. The olive branch is the symbol of peace. Wouldn’t it be a better world if olive branches were exchanged instead of bullets? Throughout history, people have used the gift of plants and flowers to communicate human emotions. Many of us know the red rose stands for love, and the daisy for happiness. Good Earth Plant Company wants to widen your plant vocabulary so the next time you give flowers or a plant as gift, it will hold a deeper meaning.… Read More

Wendy’s Gets What Green Means

| June 19, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Katelyn Hutchings in her green office at Good Earth Plant Company with over 200 plants.
You may be thinking, “Why is Good Earth Plants discussing a Wendy’s restaurant commercial? Don’t we get enough commercials in our lives!” I realize this is not like our typical posts, but Wendy’s is on to something we’ve talked about for a long time. In the new Wendy’s commercial for its “Summer in a bowl” salad, two women are eating the salads in their office. While they eat, the office begins to transform into a beautiful, green outdoor atmosphere. They love it! Wouldn’t you love to see your office turn inside out? See the commercial here: When you have plants in your office, the air quality improves. … Read More

Good Earth Plants has the Prescription for Sick Building Syndrome

| June 12, 2014 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
It's not rocket science, really: humble plants like this Pothos can improve worker productivity. Photo: Julien Gong Min
Many of us know what it’s like to work in an office in a city like San Diego. According to a study by global architecture firm HOK as reported in The Guardian newspaper, people in cities spend 90 percent of their time in artificial environments. A newly defined phenomenon in these work environments is referred to as Sick Building Syndrome.  The National Safety Council describes Sick Building Syndrome as a situation where individuals experience acute health effects linked to being inside a building. These symptoms include headaches; eye, nose, and throat irritation; a dry cough; dry or itchy skin; dizziness and nausea; difficulty in concentrating; fatigue; and sensitivity to odors.… Read More

Living Architecture: Beyond the Eye

| June 5, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
GreenScaped Buildings designed and installed this living wall for The Irvine Company, an excellent example of "Nature In The Space."
There are so many benefits of living walls and green roofs, but you don’t have to take our word for it. The Summer 2014 issue of Living Architecture Monitor magazine features businesses which have recently installed living architecture discussing the improvements in the health and well-being of employees, as well as a positive side effect: increased property values. GreenScaped Buildings client Irvine Company Office Properties is included in the article, “How Green Roofs & Walls Have Impacted Building Occupants’ Well-Being,” Irvine Company manager Sherry Mashadian explains, “The living wall is definitely one of the greater features to the building and added value to the project.… Read More

Vertical Forests: Green New Heights

| May 21, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Living Walls
The "Bosco Verticale" or vertical forest built by Boeri Studio in Milan, Italy.
  Italian architect Stefano Boeri came up with the concept of “Bosco Verticale,” or Vertical Forest, as a way to combine high-density residential development with tree planting in urban settings. Now his first project in Milan, Italy is nearly finished. It’s a twin tower apartment complex. I’ve been tracking this project for a couple of years now. What a project! Over 700 tress, 11,000 groundcover plants and 5,000 shrubs. I sure would like to get the maintenance contact on this baby. Can you image how beautiful the view is while framed by plants? Take a look for yourself here and I’m sure you will agree.… Read More

Cleaning the Polluted Air: Easy as Planting a Tree

| May 15, 2014 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Sustainable Living
If we don't address our pollution issues and clean our air NOW, we could all end up living under a dome.
Life provides too many distractions: phone calls, emails and everything on Facebook. When time allows my thoughts to wander beyond my little world, many times it rests upon how we can improve the environment or at the least, reduces our negative impact on it. Almost always, plants find their way into my ideas for helping the situation in one way or another. The recent wildfires in San Diego County brought clouds of black smoke, ash and the loss of primarily native vegetation in undeveloped areas. Our first responders are working hard to contain the danger, but not without the loss of trees and habitat.… Read More

Good Earth Plants Thanks You For Visiting Our Open House

| May 1, 2014 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants
We love having our friends, family, clients and colleagues visit Good Earth Plant Company for our Open House and Plant Sale - or anytime at all!
  “April Showers bring May Flowers….” While we certainly needed the rain, my fingers were crossed for sunny skies Friday, April 24 as we hosted our spring Good Earth Plants Open House and Plant Sale. While it wasn’t exactly sunny, we did manage to hold off the rain until later that night and have a tremendous Open House that day. And the wind? What’s a little breeze! Our semi-annual event brought record-breaking numbers of new guests to view eight different types of green roofs and two dozen living wall displays that interested a number of architects, landscape architects and interior designers, not to mention a few potential customers.… Read More

Don’t Miss The Plant Bargains at the Good Earth Plants Open House

| April 24, 2014 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls
We are knee-deep in palms, ficus and orchids here at Good Earth Plants and busy getting ready to welcome you to our Spring Plant Sale and Open House on Friday, April 24 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Have you sent your RSVP yet? What are you waiting for! The greenhouse and demonstration garden have never looked better with living wall and green roof displays and “Plant Portrait” samples fully planted and lush with spring growth. Some of the smaller living walls will be on sale and you can take one home with you. We also have a number of assorted items for sale from indoor green plants and pottery  to 10-foot Queen palm trees.… Read More