America’s Founding Farmers Planted a Nation

Mt. Vernon Gardens, George Washington
When Presidents Day rolls around, I always think about what it must have been like to have lived in the late 1700s. Seeing painted portraits of Washington and Jefferson with their long hair and ruffled shirts makes me believe they were way ahead of their time. We learned what we needed to know in sixth grade so that we could write a report on Jefferson. There was the bad rumor about Washington’s dental issues. But what else do we know about these brilliant men? This we DO know: our Founding Fathers were dedicated cultivators of the earth. They planted gardens, had animated discussions on the correct recipe for compost and thought about the future of the earth they would leave behind.… Read More

Westgate Hotel Renovation Includes Living Wall by GreenScaped Buildings

Pure Fitness living wall at the Westgate Hotel by GreenScaped Buildings
GreenScaped Buildings was featured in the San Diego Business Journal this week in an article about the recently completed renovations at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. The freestanding living wall is positioned next to the rooftop pool, just outside the Pure Fitness facility at the hotel. It’s a showstopper. It provides an excellent example of introducing plants into an urban environment. It has already been used as the backdrop for a couture fashion show by Zandra Rhodes. Read the article here.

Look Who’s at the Expo: Good Earth Plants & Jim Mumford

Jim Mumford at Landscape Expo
Jim Mumford and Good Earth Plants took the show on the road to Long Beach and the 2014 Landscape Architects Expo. Jim brought a living wall display and presented a seminar on living walls to landscape architects from Southern California and beyond. We hope to be working on some terrific projects with some of you soon.

Go Green for Valentine’s Day

It’s that time again. The drugstore aisles are overflowing with shades of pink and red and the Hallmark people are planning how to spend their first quarter bonus. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! Don’t get me wrong. Now that I don’t deal on the retail side of the holiday, I’m good with buying cards and flowers and chocolate hearts. It’s a happy time, even if it started off as a rather morbid holiday. Some historians tell the tale of a man named Valentin who helped Christians escape harsh prisons. While imprisoned for his acts by the Romans, Valentin fell in love with the jailer’s daughter.… Read More

See Jim Mumford and Good Earth Plant Company tonight on KPBS-TV

Jim Mumford and Nan Sterman, KPBS TV
See Jim Mumford of Good Earth Plants on “A Growing Passion” tonight on KPBS  Thursday, February 6, 8:30 p.m. KPBS Channel 15 Cox Cable 1011 HD Time Warner Cable 711 HD Green roofs were once a novelty.  No more! Today, they are gaining popularity thanks to their ability to capture runoff and keep it from polluting beaches and bays, to moderate temperatures inside the buildings they top, reduce atmospheric heating, and offer a beautiful, interesting, even healing alternative to an expanse of glaring, bare rooftop. Nan Sterman, host of “A Growing Passion” on KPBS-TV, visits green roofs large and small across San Diego County including a few of Jim Mumford’s favorites created by Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings for our clients.… Read More

Living Walls: More Romantic Than Cards and Candy

On February 13 and 14,  you can find me not in the aisle of a Hallmark store or candy shop, but at the Landscape Architects Expo in Long Beach. Good Earth Plant Company participated with a display in 2013, teaming with our living wall contract nursery, Green Meadow Growers. It was a great show! Many new leads and many new conversations about what we do best: designing, installing and maintaining living walls and green roofs. This year we upped the ante somewhat by agreeing to speak in a breakout session. My topic will be simple: “Designing Living Walls.” I’ll be speaking at 1:30 p.m.… Read More