Vertical Gardens

Quiz: Are You Getting Enough Vitamin N – as in Nature?

| August 13, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Are you and especially your kids getting enough vitamin N - as in Nature? Good Earth Plant Company San Diego
If you’re a regular reader of our Good Earth Plant Company blog, you know one of our favorite topics to write about is the connection people have to nature and how much nature influences our well being. We learn more on an almost daily basis how important it is for all of us to integrate the natural world into our urban lives in the workplace and at home. Wouldn’t you like to know how well you’re doing, and what specific things you should do to increase the presence of nature and plants in your life? We found this ingenious little quiz put together by some smart people at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing.… Read More

California’s Trees Are Worth Saving

| July 22, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
San Diego is losing its Torrey Pines at an alarming rate because of the drought.
Have you noticed changes in the landscaping along San Diego’s freeways? Caltrans has cut a lot of trees down, replacing them with low profile, low water use landscaping. I bet Caltrans is doing this in other areas of California as well. Caltrans isn’t alone. KPBS Radio reported 100 trees have been removed from the Torrey Pines Preserve, which is a lot more than the yearly average. Twelve MILLION trees died in California state forests in 2014 because of the drought. Almost 90,000 of those were in San Diego County. All over the state, our urban and suburban street trees are being removed due to drought, disease, and because they’ve become street hazards raising sidewalks.… Read More

Ripping Out Your Lawn? Consider Foodscaping

| July 18, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Something as simple as a community garden can greatly increase your general happiness daily. Photo: Courtesy Karen Contreras, Urban Plantations
Homeowners in drought-stricken California have gotten serious about making changes in their water consumption. They are ripping out their water-guzzling lawns in record numbers. What they don’t always do is give a lot of thought about what will replace that lawn. So we end up seeing a lot of mulch and rocks as a quick fix. Consider a tastier alternative: Foodscaping. The simplest definition of foodscaping is landscaping with edible plants. It embraces the concept of growing food in place of lawns on private or sometime community property. It’s something in between farming, where you are growing food in a way that maximizes output, and landscaping that is meant to be decorative.… Read More