sustainable building

Living Wall Maintenance: It Takes a Professional

| December 17, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls
I love taking my daughter Allie shopping at the Fashion Valley Mall. The stores, the displays, the crowds. I will even tolerate a line to find a parking spot so that we can wander the mall. So imagine my joy when Greenscaped Buildings got a call to design, build and maintain a living wall just outside the new True Foods restaurant. Healthy food and a living wall, two of my favorite things! It was one of our largest living wall projects and we were so proud when it was completed. We took pictures and shook hands and for the next year, Good Earth Plant Company maintained it to keep it green and growing.… Read More

Boston Strong and Green at American Society of Landscape Architects meeting

| November 15, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls
Jim Mumford at ASLA meeting
I am in Boston representing Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings at one of my favorite events, the annual American Society of Landscape Architects Conference. Such a great group of people: friends, colleagues and some of the smartest landscape professionals you will ever meet. Friday I presented a talk on “Obstacles and Pitfalls to Successful Living Wall Maintenance,” and while it sounds like a mouthful, it brings up important issues. To design, install and maintain a living wall isn’t inexpensive. No one wants to get a living wall up and ready to grow only to see it wither under a poor maintenance program.… Read More

Bioinspiration: Letting Nature Inspire Your Work

| November 12, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
This week wasn’t about the usual business of green roofs and living walls. I jumped outside the box, exited my silo and spent time at events that remind me of what else is out there. I attended a Downtown San Diego Partnership workshop featuring Fred Kent of Project for Public Spaces. I first heard Fred speak at the Greening the City symposium in March 2006 at Liberty Station. It was there that I was exposed to the idea of green roofs. My passion was ignited. I went on to take a course in New York and studied Fred’s concepts about energizing, engaging and programming public places to build communities.… Read More

Jim Mumford’s Treehouse Memories

| September 3, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment
Treehouse, alternative living
Remember when you were young and your backyard was truly an oasis of adventure? Hedges became prime hiding spots for an ambush of friendly enemies from down the street. A tent set up on the grass was a fort held strong by brave young soldiers. If you were lucky enough, maybe you had a treehouse, or you knew someone who did. I spent endless afternoons playing with my school buddies building forts and planning brave escapades in the canyon in our backyard. While we didn’t have a treehouse, I always envied those kids who did. Today, some of those same kids who couldn’t shake the idea of living in a treehouse are building them….and… Read More

San Diego: Living in a Sustainable Paradise

| August 27, 2013 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Sustainable Paradise
We are so lucky to live in San Diego! Aside from the beautiful beaches, parks, local mountains and particularly the people, San Diego is chock full of brilliant individuals and groups who think ahead when it comes to city and neighborhood planning. For the past four years, I have been fortunate to be a member of such a great group called C-3 (Citizens Coordinate for Century 3.) As our name suggests, we are a group of forward-thinkers from politicians to architects to artist and just about everyone in between (including green roof and living wall contractors). C-3 is dedicated to helping improve the livability of San Diego in many ways.… Read More

IGNITE! PIA Expo, Las Vegas

| August 13, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Awards & Achievements, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
Plantscape Industry Alliance
  Is it really August already? It seems like only yesterday school was letting out and I had an entire summer to look forward to. Work goes on and this week, I am in Las Vegas for the 2013 Plantscape Industry Alliance Expo (PIA). What a great group of people. I have been fortunate enough to have been a board member for 10 years and an executive director for two years. People with PIA are the decision makers and movers and shakers in the plant industry today and tomorrow. After two years of no responsibilities when attending the PIA Expo, leisurely viewing exhibits and catching up with colleagues I was once again asked to be a speaker.… Read More

Summertime

| July 16, 2013 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Summertime, beach
It’s Summertime. Full-fledged, middle of July no-going-back Summertime. The days are warm, the sun is up longer, the crickets are in full concert mode after dark. And I love it! Although, after the Fourth of July, there seems to be that big exhale, kind of like a little bird on your shoulder reminding you that something will inevitably end. Already the sun is going down earlier. When I was growing up, the three months of summer were a blissful eternity filled with bike rides, trips to Pacific Beach and the sound of my friends playing in the street. I was so lucky to have grown up in San Diego and to have a pocketful of memories about Summer.… Read More

Want A Garden On Your Wall? U-T San Diego, March 10, 2013

| March 10, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Living Walls, Media Coverage
If you’re over the potted-plant look and have some tax money to spend on your home or business, one thing to consider is a wall garden or green roof. This special niche in the landscaping world remains relatively unknown but has in recent years attracted big-time clients like celeb chef Mario Batali, SDG&E and Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley, a major regional mall in Southern California. The firm that served those clients and many more is Good Earth Plants, which evolved from a downtown San Diego plant kiosk to a warehouse space in Kearny Mesa. It also birthed sister company Greenscaped Buildings.… Read More

TEDx Youth Talk by Jim Mumford: Living architecture

| February 18, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Media Coverage
Sharing beautiful images and a compelling story about how his successful plantscaping business bloomed into a pioneering player in the burgeoning field of living architecture, Jim Mumford shows how uber-sleek depictions of futuristic cities are way off the mark. His talk to San Diego high school students on the theme of “Architects of the Future,” demonstrates how plants and metropolitan habitats on walls, roofs, patios at work and at home will bring nature into our lives even more in the future, not less. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.… Read More

Urban Heat Island Effect Bigger Than We Thought

| February 5, 2013 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Remember when the terms “Global Warming” and “Climate Change” were first mentioned? Now it’s commonplace. I just read how a research meteorologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is suggesting that big cities in North America and Asia may generate enough heat to warm areas  as far north as Canada and Siberia as much as 1.8 degrees. In general, the heat gathered from the urban heat island effect rises and travels upwards and its energy may change high-altitude currents in the atmosphere that dictate prevailing weather. Meteorologists have known that cities are warmer than rural areas with cars, buildings, asphalt and roofs that absorb heat.… Read More