Sunflower Farms

What Sunflower Farms does

Sunflower Farms is a family-owned retail nursery founded in 1975 and operated by the Akiyama family (Wendy, Ron, and Russell Akiyama) at a single physical location at 17609 S Western Ave, Torrance, California. The business serves residential homeowners and gardening enthusiasts in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County and operates the storefront seven days a week. Its property is a Certified Wildlife Habitat, and the company positions the grounds as a destination experience in addition to a retail outlet.

The company's core products are organized around three offerings: a retail nursery carrying roses, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit trees, herbs, vegetable plants, succulents, firewood, and garden gifts; a professional landscape design service led by Wendy Akiyama that includes on-site or in-nursery consultations, hand-drawn renderings, plant lists, and installation estimates for a $200 fee that is credited toward purchases of $500 or more; and paid community workshops and events such as Bonsai Workshops held in an outdoor classroom. Pricing across streams is transactional and consumer-facing, with revenue generated at the point of sale, on a per-consultation basis, or via event registration processed through Square.

The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer with a content-led layer: the company runs an educational blog covering Zone 10b gardening, seasonal planting checklists, and recipes, distributes an email newsletter, hosts community events including externally facilitated classes in health, wellness, cooking, water conservation, and Tai Chi, and maintains organic social presence via Instagram. There are no disclosed enterprise customers, no B2B contracts, no external investors, and no parent or subsidiary structure; the business is operated entirely within the founding family.

Name

Sunflower Farms

Legal name

Sunflower Farms

Website

https://sunflowerfarmsnursery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunflower Farms is a family-owned retail nursery in Torrance, California, founded in 1975, selling plants, garden gifts, and landscape design services, and hosting community workshops for residential homeowners in the South Bay area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant Nursery & Garden Center

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Landscaping Services (561730)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Garden Bed Installation & Planting (Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs) (HSAIAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL), Seasonal Color & Flower Rotation (Spring/Fall Plantings) (HSAIAFAE), Vegetable & Herb Garden Installation and Maintenance (HSAIAFAM)

Keywords

• Plant nursery retail
• Landscape design services
• Garden center
• Gardening workshops
• California native plants

Headquarters

HQ city

Gardena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Plant and Garden Product Sales: Direct retail sales of plants including roses, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit trees, herbs, vegetable plants, succulents, firewood, and garden gifts sold over-the-counter to consumers visiting the nursery.
2. Landscape Design Services: Custom landscape design consultations and planning services including conceptual design, plant selection, materials sourcing, and installation services. Consultation fee of $200 applied toward purchases of $500 or more.
3. Workshops and Events: Educational workshops and special events such as Bonsai Workshop, holiday wreath workshops, and community classes held in outdoor classroom. Events include paid registration fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunflower Farms is a family-owned retail plant nursery in Torrance, CA that sells live plants (roses, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit trees, herbs, vegetable plants, succulents), firewood, and garden gifts over-the-counter at its physical storefront open 7 days a week. It also delivers custom landscape design consultations and installation services led by in-house designer Wendy Akiyama, and hosts paid educational workshops and community events (such as Bonsai Workshops) in an outdoor classroom.

Product overview

Sunflower Farms is a family-owned nursery business operating since 1975, offering a comprehensive range of garden center products and services. The core offerings include a retail nursery with diverse plant inventory (roses, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit trees, herbs, vegetable plants, succulents) and landscape design services. The business also hosts community events and educational workshops, including bonsai classes. The nursery is located in Torrance, CA and serves the South Bay area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nursery Plants and Garden Products Retail sale of live plants and garden goods including roses, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit trees, herbs, vegetable plants, succulents, firewood, and garden gifts, sold over-the-counter at the Torrance, CA nursery open 7 days a week. Targeted at residential homeowners and gardeners in the South Bay area.
• Landscape Design Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Monrovia Nursery Company: One of the largest U.S. wholesale growers of ornamental and landscape plants, supplying branded nursery stock to independent garden centers including Sunflower Farms. Comparable as an upstream plant supplier and broader nursery category incumbent.
• Proven Winners: Large plant brand marketing cooperative whose branded ornamentals, shrubs, and edibles are stocked by independent garden centers like Sunflower Farms. Comparable as a category-shaping incumbent in the plants retailed by the subject company.
• Lowe's Garden Centers: National home improvement chain operating large garden center departments selling plants, soil, mulch, and basic landscaping supplies. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same residential gardener customer.
• The Home Depot Garden Centers: National big-box retailer with extensive garden center departments selling plants, garden supplies, and basic landscaping services. Comparable as the dominant mass-market competitor for retail plant and garden supply sales.

Direct peers

• Armstrong Garden Centers: California-based independent garden center chain operating multiple retail nurseries with on-site landscape design services. Most directly comparable to Sunflower Farms on combined retail + design model in Southern California.
• Green Acres Nursery & Supply: Family-owned retail nursery and landscape services business operating several locations across the Sacramento and Northern California region. Directly comparable on the combined retail nursery, landscape design, and community-event model.
• SummerWinds Nursery: Multi-location independent garden center in California and the Western US with retail nursery, landscape services, and educational workshops. Comparable on the integrated retail-plus-services community nursery model.
• Yamagami's Nursery: Family-owned garden center in Cupertino, California operating a retail nursery alongside landscape design and community workshops. Closely comparable on family ownership, retail nursery + design service mix, and Bay/California-area customer base.
• Roger's Gardens: Destination garden center in Corona del Mar, California offering plants, gifts, landscape design services, and frequent community events and educational programming. Closely comparable on experience-driven retail, design services, and event-led engagement.

Others

• Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (KonMari): Netflix series and lifestyle brand that featured the Akiyama family and Sunflower Farms in 2019. Comparable not as a competitor but as a media partnership that has driven brand awareness and aspirational positioning for the nursery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunflower Farms