plants

How plants can improve our mental health, Part 1

| July 26, 2023 | Categories: Nature and Wellbeing
  We’re more than a little biased, but plants can solve a lot of problems. Green roofs, for example, can absorb excess rainwater and help mitigate flooding. Plants provide our oxygen, our food, our fuel, and the materials we rely on. Plants even help solar panels create more energy. We know: plants are amazing.  We cannot survive without them.   Increasingly, research is showing that our leafy friends are helpful not only for our environment, but for our minds, as well. As rates of depression reach new heights worldwide, it turns out that plants can help with that, too. In a growing number of studies, spending time around and among plants and trees—even seeing photos of plants—has helped with everything from mental health to concentration, duration of illness to sense of purpose.… Read More

Let’s Talk About Biophilic Design

| December 7, 2022 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Media Coverage, Plantscaping
There is only one thing I enjoy more than enriching peoples’ lives with plants at Good Earth Plant Company. It’s talking to people about enriching their lives with plants – especially when I get to speak to a big audience.  This week, I made my third appearance on the daily talk show “It’s Your Life.” It is a podcast, livestream, and live YouTube show. Hosted by Dr. James Cooley and co-hosted and produced by his wife, Michelle Cooley. The Cooleys invite people from all walks of life with different professions and areas of expertise. Dr. Cooley is a motivational speaker and a retired Navy Officer with 23 years of service.… Read More

Tips To Prep Your Plants For Winter Months

| November 30, 2022 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants
A sunny window feels good on a cold day for you and for your plants, too. Photo: Mary Kreuel / Creative Commons winter months
Even though we’re blessed to live and work in a temperate, plant-loving climate at Good Earth Plant Company, we still experience the change of seasons. Winter may be subtle, but it’s coming at us quickly. Meteorological winter starts December 1, and the winter equinox is less than three weeks away. Our daytime temperatures have dropped 20 degrees recently, and in some places, the nighttime lows are legitimately cold. At least they are to us! Your container plants living outside feel it too. Many need protection from the coldest winter weather. Even in a Mediterranean-style climate, it can drop below freezing at night.… Read More

Here’s To Your Health From Fix Medical Group and Good Earth Plant Company

| November 9, 2022 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Nature and Wellbeing
Fix Medical Group case manager Jesika Casey greets clients and visitors along with our moss wall and orchids. Photo: Jim Mumford
Good Earth Plant Company blog readers know our mission is to enrich peoples’ lives with plants. Those lives include our clients, guests, employees, suppliers, and everyone who interacts with them. What does “enrich” mean, exactly? The formal definition, according to Merriam-Webster, is “to make rich or richer, especially by the addition or increase of some desirable quality, attribute, or ingredient.” Money is the first thing that comes to your mind when talking about being “rich.” Who wouldn’t find life a lot easier if you had a lot of money? We didn’t win the Powerball this week, so we can’t help you there.… Read More

Sustainability Is Worth The Struggle 

| September 28, 2022 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
What kind of world will we leave for future generations? Photo: Pexels sustainability
Good Earth Plant Company loves it when our clients consider how their purchases impact our environment. Study after study demonstrates consumers want to buy products and services from companies taking a stand on saving the planet. A 2019 study of consumers found 83% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of products they buy and say it’s important for companies to design more environmentally friendly products. We think it should be 100% but it’s a good start. During a recent conversation with my son Ted, it hit me how pessimistic he feels about our earth’s health. The environmental outlook is dire.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company is Falling For Fall

| September 21, 2022 | Categories: Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Good Earth Plant Company loves fall. We'll tell you why. Photo: Pixabay
I can feel it in the air, see it in the changing landscape. Fall is here. The days grow shorter. The shadows grow longer. The sycamores are turning golden brown, the bird of paradise are full of flowers, the chaparral is dry and fully dormant, the sage extra pungent. Soon the cottonwoods in the San Diego River bed running through Mission Valley will be yellow, and the liquid ambers in your yard a deep red. Want even more color? Drive up to Julian or further up into the eastern Sierra mountains around Bishop. Fall is my favorite season. It doesn’t hurt that my birthday and Good Earth Plant Company’s anniversary both occur in the fall: October 25 and November 1.… Read More

Bringing Nature to The Brick Boutique Hotel in Oceanside

| September 14, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
The Coco Cabana lounge high above downtown Oceanside, California. Photo: Jim Mumford
Plants + Creativity Make For Stunning Hospitality Biophilic Design Oceanside, CA has evolved into a gorgeous destination for food, drinks and ocean views. Once known mostly for rowdy fun, with the addition of luxury boutique hotels and shopping, it’s stepping up its game. Good Earth Plant Co. was thrilled for the opportunity to partner with creative architectural design firm GTC Creative on biophilic design for one of these gorgeous new Oceanside boutique hotels – The Brick Hotel, including the Q&A Oyster Bay and rooftop bar and lounge Coco Cabana. Hospitality design incorporating plants, or biophilic design, has been a growing trend for the last 5 years.… Read More

Houseplants Show Off at San Diego Botanic Garden

| August 23, 2022 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
In my natural habitat: surrounded by plants at the San Diego Botanic Garden. Photo: Jim Mumford
The San Diego area is fortunate to have many public gardens to enjoy including the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly the Quail Botanical Garden) in Encinitas. When I learned SDBG planned to stage its first-ever special showcase featuring houseplants called “World of Houseplants” I couldn’t wait to see it! Life got in the way though, but I finally made it along with my mom, Sandy Fowler. The show is only open through Labor Day Monday. If you haven’t had the chance to see it, make time to go. As we’ve written over the past few years, houseplants have exploded in popularity.… Read More

Fertilizer 101 For Indoor Plant Parents

| August 17, 2022 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Help keep your indoor plants healthy by making sure they are well fed with the right type of plant fertilizer. Photo: Claudia Felbermayer / Pixabay
Good Earth Plant Company loves sharing our best tips on indoor plant selection and care with our plant-loving friends. Our advice on growing orchids was one of our most popular blog posts this year. The people have spoken. We’re all about giving the people what they want! The next step in developing your personal horticulture skills is learning how to feed and fertilize (the same thing) indoor plants. Yes, plants get hungry and need food. But plants can’t speak up and whine or beg when they’re hungry – which is a good thing if you have a chowhound or kitty making noise to get their treats. … Read More

Plants Can Save The World – It’s Science

| July 13, 2022 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Get busy, Eco-Warriors. Plants can save the world. We just have to lend a hand. Photo: Anna Shvets
In my spare time, I read science articles. Doesn’t everyone? In this case, the headline got my attention: “Plants aren’t good at photosynthesis. We can do it better.” This didn’t make sense to me. The reason plants grow and thrive is photosynthesis. It’s life and death for plants. The article was written by Dr. Raffael Jovine, a scientist who is the author of the new book “How Light Makes Life: The Hidden Wonders and World-Saving Powers of Photosynthesis.” I read more and thankfully, Dr. Jovine isn’t a hater. Far from it. His book explores how photosynthesis was first discovered and understood by humans, how it works, our planet’s reliance on photosynthesis for nearly all life, the economic value of photosynthesis, and how we can use photosynthesis and plants to save our environment and solve many other complex problems like hunger, healthcare, and equity.… Read More