Good Earth Plant Company
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
#StayPlanted with Purpose
This week, Good Earth Plant Company worked on one of its favorite assignments for the Alpha Project.
A brand new Alpha Project homeless shelter opened in a completely renovated hotel in Imperial Beach. It’s a safe and secure place focusing on housing families. We provided a little extra plant love to warm up the new residences. We donated some of our client plant returns for common areas and hallways, and anywhere else Alpha Project wanted to put them.
It gives us joy on so many levels. We re-home these plants where they can find a new purpose. It’s like adopting a new pet from a shelter.… Read More
We Are Learning. We Are Listening. We Stand With You.
Two weeks after we learned about the shocking murder of George Floyd, and just days after his funeral, we all have a lot to think about, and a lot to account for.
I’m usually not at all shy about speaking my mind. So it’s no surprise I have heard from people who’ve wondered when I might make a statement about this.
But what do we have to add to the conversation at Good Earth Plant Company? Even well-intentioned words are so easily misplaced.
As a white Boomer man, what do I have to say from my position of privilege about the racial upheaval in our country?… Read More
Take Mom’s Advice: Find Gratitude In Tough Times
Jim Mumford: My mom, Sandy Fowler, is a cross-cultural psychologist. At age 81, she is the current president of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training And Research (SIETAR USA). Its annual conference is still a ‘go’ in Omaha, Nebraska this October. Mom is working diligently to make sure it’s a success. This blog was originally written by Sandy, and I found it worth sharing with our readers with a few updates – making it the first-ever mother-son blog post for Good Earth Plant Company! How about that, Mom?
Sandy Fowler: I would observe that when Jim was young, he didn’t do as good a job at taking my advice as he has lately.… Read More
Time for a Field Trip
Didn’t you love class field trips when you were a kid? I know I sure did! Anything to get out of the classroom and outside to see some cool things.
This hasn’t really changed much now that many of us are trapped inside offices. It’s the same clock ticking down as you try to focus when there are so many more interesting things going on outside. It even happens at Good Earth Plant Company once in a while. We forget to take time to get out and get a fresh perspective.
So our design and buying team of Rachel Hecathorn and Cassidy Braddy and I took a field trip recently to two of our favorite commercial nurseries in the North Inland area of San Diego County.… Read More
Show Mother Earth The Love on Valentine’s Day
Attention Good Earth Plant Company blog readers: Friday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. You’re welcome.
If you let this sneak up on you like a lot of people, you’ll be scrambling today to purchase the no-brainer Valentine’s Day favorites: chocolates and flowers, usually roses.
Valentine’s Day roses and I go back a long way at Good Earth Plant Company. For my first 14 years in business, I ran a flower stand named “Good Earth Plant & Flower Co.” – very different from what we do today after four decades in business. Back in the 1970s and into the early 1990s, our main product was fresh cut flowers, and our biggest sales rush of the year was Valentine’s Day.… Read More
Green Medicine from Mother Nature
One way or another, Mother Nature provides many different ways to improve our health and cure our problems. Human beings have relied on plants to treat their illnesses and ailments throughout history. Forty percent of all prescription medication comes from plant extracts or synthetic plant compounds. If you count other types of natural sources such as fungi and molds, nearly three-quarters of all drugs today come from Nature.
Worldwide, there are 80,000 types of plants used medicinally, although some are illegal. Nearly 20 percent of them are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss.
Aspirin is one of the most common drugs worldwide.… Read More
Don’t Trash The Holidays!
The holidays are hitting the home stretch toward New Year’s Day. It’s time to start making your recycling plans if you have a fresh-cut Christmas tree. But there are also other holiday items you should consider recycling even if you celebrated Christmas with an artificial tree.
Here’s how to properly dispose of your greenery – and this includes wreaths or other decorations made with living greens.
The easiest thing to do for most households in San Diego is to put it out for collection with your regular greenery pickup. If you don’t have greenery pickup, there are 17 drop-off locations available.… Read More
Time For Thanks At Good Earth Plant Company
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
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