Gardening

Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes worldwide. It continues to grow in popularity. The number of people growing their own vegetables, fruit and flowers keeps increasing each year.

Gardening is an inherently healthy activity. It helps foster a sense of community in a shared passion. It breaks down barriers.  People of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels can join in. It’s fun, it doesn’t have to cost anything, and it strengthens our ties to nature – our biophilic connection.

Overall, American gardeners reported spending a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales, the highest ever, with a record average household spend of $503 – up nearly $100 over the previous year. One-third of this comes from 18 to 34-year-olds.

Container gardening set new sales records, too.  Since many gardening enthusiasts don’t have the typical suburban backyard or much space, they’re pursuing their hobby on a smaller scale – and it’s mostly indoors.

Indoor gardening is growing like crazy. Thirty percent of all households bought at least one houseplant in the past year. Good Earth Plant Company enjoys sharing our professional expertise in indoor gardening with our readers.

Adding plants to your indoor environment at home and work provides multiple benefits to your physical and mental health. Study after study confirms plants clean your indoor air of toxins, raising humidity to healthier levels, increase the oxygen levels, buffer noise, calm your nerves and help you focus.

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

Keep Our Trees Green and Growing in Drought

San Diego's trees add to the beauty it is known for worldwide. Photo: City of San Diego keep our trees green
Several years ago, I encouraged blog readers to plant trees for the well-being of our planet. If you followed my advice, you have some shade to sit in while enjoying your beverage of choice! Now in the midst of the worst drought Southern California has experienced in our lifetime, the most important thing you can do now is to use the precious water available to keep our trees thriving. Put trees first in line for water Southern California officials are issuing new restrictions on outdoor water use amid the worsening drought. It’s fine for lawns to go brown – and it’s even better if we replace them.… Read More

Monarch Butterflies Making A Comeback

The western California monarch is in danger of extinction. Good Earth Plant Company provides critical milkweed habitat and we're thrilled to see it working. Photo: Erin Lindley
With so much troubling news about our environment lately, any good news is welcome, and I found some worth sharing with you. The Monarch butterfly is making a comeback! Last month, the Xerces Society reported a surprising outcome from its 25th annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. Volunteers observed 247,237 monarch butterflies observed across western overwintering sites: a more than 100-fold increase from last year. Xerces Society biologists Isis Howard and Emma Pelton write, “This year’s total both amazed us with the monarchs’ ability to bounce up from a record low and underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts to recover the western monarch butterfly population.”… Read More

Celebrity Gardeners Who Love Plants

Celebrities are people, too. So during the pandemic when plants helped people cope and fill their time with a wonderful new hobby, celebrities started buying indoor plants and working on their gardens, too. Many of them couldn’t wait to share their new plants  and skills on their social media accounts. Along with all the Millennial and GenZers finding happiness and comfort with their plants, there are plenty of longtime OGs – Original Gardeners! These are the celebrities who’ve loved plants and gardening for years. Some have become horticultural authorities in their own right. At Good Earth Plant Company, we love anyone who loves plants like we do.… Read More

National Gardening Exercise Day: June 6

Get in your workout by getting in some gardening! Sunday, June 6 is National Gardening Workout Day. Photo: Jim Mumford
Our sedentary lives really hit home for many people over the last year. Did you gain the COVID-19, or was it 20 pounds? We now understand sitting in front of a screen for much of the day can be as harmful to our health as smoking cigarettes. Walking more is great, and if you have a treadmill desk, it’s not so tough to finish 10,000 steps in a day. But if you need to go for a walk the old-fashioned way – yes, outside! – it means you need to get in a minimum of five miles of walking per day.… Read More

Ten Plant Care Urban Legends You Need to Ignore

We love enriching peoples’ lives with plants at Good Earth Plant Company. We live for it! One of the ways we do this is sharing our tips and dropping some knowledge on you. Over the last year, so many people brought plants into the homes and their lives for the first time during the pandemic. It’s one of the most positive outcomes of a not-so-positive experience. Over many years, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about plant care, and we’ve also gotten some “tips” ourselves. I’m putting “tips” in quotes, because so many of the things we’ve heard need some serious correcting.… Read More

World Naked Gardening Day 2021 is Here!

Grab your tools and get outside for World Naked Gardening Day 2021 this Saturday, May 1. Photo: Jim Mumford
Thank you, Mother Nature. Summer temperatures are ahead for Southern California this weekend, just in time for one of our favorite days all year. Yes, Saturday is the 17th annual World Naked Gardening Day! More good timing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidance this week on COVID-19 mask guidelines. Fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a mask outdoors. At home, you don’t need a mask outside, of course. Great news for the 30% of us who are fully vaccinated. When we first found out about WNGD several years ago at Good Earth Plant Company, we got a big laugh out of it.… Read More

Our Favorite Holiday Is Here! Celebrate Biophilia on St. Patrick’s Day with Good Earth Plant Company

Our friend Stumpy, who lives in Jim Mumford's yard, is excited to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Photo: Jim Mumford
Most people say their favorite holiday is Christmas. Thanksgiving comes next, but Halloween has nearly caught up. Our favorite holiday didn’t even make the list! We’re here to celebrate OUR favorite holiday at Good Earth Plant Company. You don’t have to be Irish (or part Irish like me) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Think St. Patrick’s Day is all about cheers, beers, and parties? Think again! St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Nature. It’s the original Biophilic Holiday. We’ll explain. St. Patrick’s Day History  You may have Irish heritage like me, as many Americans do. Ireland has a long history of emigration.… Read More

Heart Shaped Plants for Valentine’s Day

At Good Earth Plant Company, we love flowers any time of year. But TBH, we love them even more if they aren’t cut flowers. Flowers are renewable at least, but they don’t last. It’s also true I’m still a little traumatized 40 years later after the early years when Good Earth Plants & Flowers went a little crazy this week. And with only two helpers, we did over three months’ business in two days. Instead, lean into the pandemic craze for indoor plants and support your favorite local nursery by purchasing a heart-shaped plant. You know it will fit, it’s perfect at any age, it suits everyone’s diet, and your recipient is guaranteed to love it.… Read More

Chilling Out With Your Container Plants This Winter

It's a good idea to bring your tropical container plants inside when temperatures drop. Photo: Cottonbro / Pexels
In some parts of the country like San Diego, the transition from summer to fall to winter is subtle. There are no obvious signs like colorful fall leaves – unless you take the time to look. Liquid Ambar trees are starting to turn red, and both sycamores and cottonwoods in the valleys and canyons are turning yellow right now. But you can still feel the steeper temperature drops from daytime highs to nighttime lows and the steady cooling trend. Your container plants living outside feel it too. Some of them need protection from the coldest winter weather. In San Diego County, we have four climate zones – coastal, inland, mountains, and desert.… Read More