Plants By Design

What Plants By Design does

Plants By Design is a family-owned commercial plantscaping company headquartered at 2117 Charles Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 1992 and led by owner Tim O'Neil. The company designs, installs, and maintains living and replica plants for indoor and outdoor commercial spaces across the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including Minneapolis, Bloomington, Woodbury, Edina, and St. Louis Park. Its service portfolio spans interior plants, exterior plantings, seasonal holiday décor, event plant rentals, living walls and moss art, rotating blooms, and replica plants for environments with limited maintenance access. Delivery follows a four-step model—Assess, Design, Install, Care—executed through consultative field sales, on-site assessments, and custom proposals.

Technical differentiation centers on horticultural expertise and certification in NextGen Living Walls systems for vertical garden installation and maintenance. The revenue model combines one-time project-based installation fees with recurring weekly or regular maintenance contracts, plus short-term event plant rentals. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contract cadences for ongoing service. The go-to-market is exclusively direct field sales to commercial clients, augmented by referral partnerships with architects, interior designers, and commercial property managers.

The customer base is concentrated in commercial real estate and spans enterprise accounts across financial services (Piper Sandler, Eide Bailly, Riverland Bank), professional services (BCG, KPMG, Accenture), healthcare (Mayo Clinic, Coloplast), agriculture (Cargill), and property management (JLL, Cushman & Wakefield). Notable project scale includes a 48-floor installation at North Loop Green, a five-floor plus five-terrace engagement at Piper Sandler, and a 150+ plant patio installation at Dario. The company operates with approximately 11 employees and has earned gold prizes at the International Plantscape Awards in the Major Renovation and New Construction categories.

Name

Plants By Design

Legal name

Plants By Design

Website

https://plantsbydesign.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Plants By Design is a family-owned commercial plantscaping company founded in 1992 that designs, installs, and maintains living and replica plants for indoor and outdoor commercial spaces throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Plantscaping Services

NAICS

Landscaping Services (56173), Landscaping Services (561730)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Maintenance Plans & Post-Installation Care (Establishment Services) (HSAIABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Installation (Plants, Sod & Soil) (HSAIABAB), Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL), Seasonal Color & Flower Rotation (Spring/Fall Plantings) (HSAIAFAE), Garden Bed Installation & Planting (Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs) (HSAIAFAB)

Keywords

• Commercial plantscaping services
• Interior plant design
• Exterior plant maintenance
• Living wall installation
• Biophilic design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Plant Design and Installation Services: One-time project-based revenue from designing and installing custom plant displays for commercial spaces including interior plants, exterior planters, living walls, moss art, and holiday decorations. Projects range from small office installations to large-scale multi-floor commercial developments.
2. Ongoing Plant Maintenance Services: Weekly or regular site visits for plant care including watering, pruning, fertilizing, and pest prevention. Recurring maintenance revenue model with plant rotation and replacement as needed. Technicians make regular visits to maintain installed plants.
3. Plant Rentals for Events: Short-term plant rentals for events, conferences, and temporary installations in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Twin Cities venues. Includes delivery, setup, and takedown services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Plants By Design provides design, installation, and ongoing maintenance of interior plants, exterior plants, living walls, moss art, holiday decor, and plant rentals for commercial spaces in the Twin Cities. The service is delivered through a four-phase process of site assessment, custom plant design, professional installation, and recurring care (watering, pruning, rotation, and replacement). Offerings also include rotating bloom programs, replica plants for low-light areas, and short-term event plant rentals.

Product overview

Plants By Design offers a comprehensive suite of commercial plant design, installation, and maintenance services. The core portfolio centers on Interior Plants, Exterior Plants, Holiday Decor, Plant Rentals, Living Walls & Moss Art, Rotating Blooms, and Replica Plants. These services are delivered through a four-step process: Assess (site visit and needs assessment), Design (custom plant design and proposal), Install (professional installation), and Care (ongoing maintenance). The company specializes in biophilic design principles and serves commercial clients across the Twin Cities region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interior Plants

Quantifiable outcome

• North Loop Green project: 48 floors of plant installations including green walls, living walls, moss chandelier, and hundreds of plants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fabricator PartnersminorOthersPlants By Design works with fabricator partners to supply holiday decor items including Christmas trees, wreaths, and decorative elements for commercial installations. These partnerships enable delivery of custom holiday designs that harmonize with building aesthetics.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ambius: Ambius is the largest commercial interior plantscaping company in North America (formerly part of Rentokil Initial), offering plant rental, design, installation, and maintenance nationwide. Plants By Design competes against it in the Twin Cities market but lacks Ambius's national account capabilities.

Direct peers

• Plantscapers: Plantscapers is a commercial plantscaping provider focused on interior plant design and maintenance for corporate facilities, with a similar recurring-service, multi-vertical customer model to Plants By Design.
• Plant Interscapes: Plant Interscapes is a commercial interior and exterior plantscaping company serving the Midwest with design, installation, and maintenance services — a direct regional peer to Plants By Design with similar service lines and target customer base.
• Botanical Decorators: Botanical Decorators is a commercial plantscaping company providing interior plant design, installation, and maintenance to corporate offices in the Upper Midwest — closely comparable service mix and customer profile to Plants By Design.
• Living Greens by Mario Moran: Living Greens by Mario Moran provides interior plantscaping, biophilic design, and living wall installation for commercial clients — comparable specialty service line especially around living walls and biophilic installations.
• Inside Plants Plus: Inside Plants Plus provides live plant design, installation, and ongoing maintenance for commercial spaces, with a service model built around recurring care visits and corporate clients — comparable operating approach to Plants By Design.
• Tropical Plant Leasing & Services: Tropical Plant Leasing offers commercial plantscaping, holiday decor, and plant rental services to offices, hotels, and event venues — overlapping service lines with Plants By Design including holiday installations and event rentals.
• Nature's Plant Accessories: Nature's Plant Accessories provides commercial plant rentals and ongoing plantscaping maintenance to offices and hospitality venues in the Midwest — a direct peer in recurring plantscaping service delivery.

Regional players

• Verde Design Associates: Verde Design Associates is a Chicago-based commercial plantscaping firm providing interior plantscaping, living walls, and maintenance — peer in plantscaping specialization but operating in a different Midwest geography than Plants By Design.

Emerging players

• Sagegreenlife: Sagegreenlife manufactures and installs preserved moss walls and living plant walls for commercial interiors — comparable to Plants By Design's Living Walls & Moss Art product line, though focused on product/manufacturing rather than full-service maintenance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plants-by-design-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/plants.by.design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Plants By Design