Use the Fall Time Change To Follow the Light

When we ignore our need for connection to the environment, we suffer - including during the annual fall time change. Photo: Image by Julita
You may want to blame any blues next week on the coming election, but our relationship with Mother Nature is more likely to blame. The weekend before Election Day, we go through our annual change back from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the U.S. and Canada (unless you’re reading this in Arizona, Hawaii, or a few small spots). Turn your clocks back that still need human adjustments on Saturday night before going to bed. You’re welcome. Our public service announcement for the week is concluded. The 60 minutes we adjusted our clocks suddenly makes us aware we are slowly losing daylight.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company Turns 45 and We’re Thriving  

Who knew how big Good Earth Plant Company would grow 45 years ago?
At this time of year, most people focus on Halloween. At Good Earth Plant Company, we celebrate something surprising instead of frightening: our anniversary! November 1 is the day I founded Good Earth Plant Company, which first opened on November 1, 1977, as a flower bucket stand. It gets harder for me every year to believe the entire 45-year trip. Explaining it is a challenge too, but I’ll give it my best try. Over the few years, hitting this milestone was far from a sure thing. How many recessions have I weathered? Each decade and then the big one in 2009.… Read More

Can Green Roofs Save The World?

We might be underdogs like Rocky when it comes to fighting climate change, but we need to get off the canvas and fight to win. Photo: Jim Mumford green roofs save
Picking up where it left off in 2019, the organization Green Roofs for Healthy Cities focused on resilient cities at its annual “Cities Alive” conference this week in Philadelphia. Nothing would stop me from making the trip east this year to learning from my colleagues about the latest green roof initiatives and building methods. I first discovered Green Roofs for Healthy Cities in 2006. I visited Manhattan for the opportunity to work for a day with Leslie Hoffman of Earth Pledge NYC. We had met earlier in San Diego at a People for Livable Places event. I became enthralled with green roofs, but I had no idea at the time how to build one or even what they really looked like.… Read More

Get Dirty, Get Healthier With Horticultural Therapy

I do a lot of thinking on my quiet canyon bench. It's much nicer than a traditional therapist's office. Photo: Jim Mumford horticultural therapy
Many people develop a love of gardening and nature as they grow up through older relatives as they care for their flowers, plants, or fruit and vegetable gardens. I spent many family summers enjoying the outdoors and learning about nature in a way that seems a little old-fashioned today. So many of my relatives have a love for nature. My father, Bob, became a much admired – and published! – nature photographer after retiring from the United States Navy. Mom Sandy is an avid backyard gardener and refuses to throw a struggling plant away, and rarely prunes. My daughter, Allie, loves nature – for her, it’s all about animals.… Read More

Sustainability Is Worth The Struggle 

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

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

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

Return To Work Incentive Bringing Employees Back

return to work incentives
Labor Day 2022 is now behind us, the unofficial end of summer. Back to school and back to work for many Americans. I’m back from a late summer trip to Minneapolis to meet with my workplace greenery colleagues of the Silverado Roundtable, and I snuck in a family visit in Denver. I’m glad to be back at Good Earth Plant Company with many exciting new projects ahead this fall. Public service announcement: Need us to enrich people’ lives with plants at work or home? Contact us now! But back to work means something different after the coronavirus pandemic. It doesn’t necessarily mean going back to the office environment.… Read More

Houseplants Show Off at San Diego Botanic Garden

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

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