Awards & Achievements

Client Happiness and Health Always Wins Big

Good Earth Plant Company got a nice surprise this week: our living wall project at 655 W. Broadway has won a Silver Award in its category in the 2021 Biophilic Design Awards. We love seeing our client projects featured, and we love seeing everyone else’s work. Awards make us feel great, but what’s more important about them is providing an objective measurement of the quality of our projects. Are we doing the best possible work we can for our clients? Where do we rate against our (mostly friendly) competitors? What can we learn from THEIR award-winning projects? This project has a special place in our horticultural hearts.… Read More

Good Earth Plants Comes Alive at Art Alive 2021

It finally seems like the end of a long, long 16 months. While we still need to respect the pandemic and take sensible precautions – it’s time to celebrate! We made it! It’s perfect timing for the return of one of my favorite San Diego events and the very first public event for us since early 2020. Art Alive 2021 starts today. If you aren’t familiar with it, local and national floral designers create their own floral interpretations of artworks from the San Diego Museum of Art. There will be more than 100 floral displays of art masterpieces, and a whole weekend of flower-filled activities and events as a Museum fundraiser.… Read More

Planting Seeds During Black History Month

Mother Nature is diverse, inclusive, and accessible. It’s only when human beings get involved that we put up barriers due to systemic racism. It’s important to us at Good Earth Plant Company to use our platform to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to horticulture and gardening during Black History Month 2021. Here are some of our favorite resources for you to explore this topic with us, and we know you’ll be inspired as much as we are. Black agriculture pioneers: Most people know the name George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver was an agricultural scientist at Tuskegee University in Alabama. By the time of his death in 1943 he was the single most important Black scientist of the 20th Century.… Read More

New for You: Good Earth Plant Company’s First White Paper

Where would YOU rathr work? Our new white paper is optimistic about the future of the American office. Cover: Silverado Roundtable
Why was I crazy enough to tackle a white paper in the middle of a pandemic? When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world over a year ago, Good Earth Plant Company wondered how it would affect our clients and us. We found out the need for nature was greater than ever. After we got past the shock of the first few months and started looking toward the future, it seemed obvious the need for biophilic design and nature in our workplaces and gathering spaces would be greater than ever for our health and wellbeing. But no one was really talking about it.… Read More

Time For Thanks At Good Earth Plant Company – Thanksgiving 2020 Edition

Who knew when I took this photo back in January 2020 what the year would bring? But we made it - Happy Thanksgiving 2020! Photo: Jim Mumford
Thanksgiving 2020 has arrived, and I’m so glad for the break. I’m sure you are too. What a crazy year! And amazing as it seems, it felt like it went by faster than ever. Let the holiday season begin by telling the people in your life how thankful you are for their presence in your life. And I’m thankful I have a platform like this blog to say so in public! I’m thankful for: I’m starting with my work family. Honestly, I spend a lot more time with them than anyone else, other than myself. I’ll begin with established rock star Erin, our Office Manager.… Read More

Good People + Good Plants = Good Earth Plant Company Turns 43!   

Living the dream! #plantlife
The last week of October is kind of a big deal at Good Earth Plant Company. It’s true more than ever in 2020.  It starts off with my birthday on October 25 (and thank you for all the birthday wishes!). My favorite holiday Halloween comes in the middle. It ends on November 1 with the anniversary of Good Earth Plant Company, which first opened on November 1, 1977 as a flower bucket stand. It’s still nearly impossible for me to grasp, much less explain the entire 43-year trip. This year, hitting this milestone was far from a sure thing. The coronavirus pandemic packed a punch a lot of businesses couldn’t survive.… Read More

Cool, Calm, and Classic: 2020’s Pantone Color of the Year

Closeup of a beautiful hydrangea. Do you see blue or lavender, or something in between? Photo: LL Marei, Flickr - Creative Commons License
Just like kids waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus, we get pretty excited at Good Earth Plant Company this time of year, but for something different. We love the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year! For 20 years in early December, the Pantone Company announces its annual choice for “Color of the Year.” We think about color a lot in our biophilic design work. While green dominates our designs, there’s a lot of creative potential in the choice of containers and other physical elements.  So we can’t wait to see what might be hot. This year, it’s something cool.… Read More

Time For Thanks At Good Earth Plant Company

Gratitude for another year with family and friends, good health, and enjoying everything Nature has to offer. Photo: Jim Mumford
Thanksgiving 2019 has arrived, and I’m so glad for the break. I’m sure you are too. Let the holiday season begin by telling the people in your life how thankful you are for their presence in your life. And I’m thankful I have a platform like this blog to so say in public! I’m thankful for: My mom: Over 80 years young and amazingly tireless, she is the President of The Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research. She also continues to select the art for the magazine cover of the American Psychological Association. My dad – fiercely independent and full of inner vitality – the stuff he says is book-worthy.… Read More

NO FOMO: The New Good Earth Plant Company Website Is Live

The new Good Earth Plant Company website has been reorganized and redesigned with YOU in mind.
I’ve been accused a few times of having a serious case of FOMO. That’s “Fear of Missing Out” if you haven’t heard the term, probably because you don’t worry about it. It’s my job to be on the cutting edge of the Plantscaping industry, so it’s a legitimate job hazard. The fear is real. I didn’t want you to experience any FOMO – so you are the first to know. The brand new Good Earth Plant Company website is now live! Forgive a few extra exclamation points in this week’s blog post. We worked hard over the last few months to bring you a fresh approach.… Read More

Grow or Die

When you’ve been in business doing something for more than four decades, you probably think you’re pretty good at it. The mere act of surviving all the challenges running a business throws at you says it all. Plenty of people take their expertise for granted, though. That’s the kiss of death. The minute you think you know-it-all is the minute you don’t. I’m a firm believer in new knowledge and growth as one of the key ingredients to success in nearly anything. And why wouldn’t growth be at the heart of working in a green business like plantscaping and biophilic design?… Read More