If you want live indoor plants designed, installed, and cared for in Southern California, two very different companies may come up. Mr. PlantSoCal is an owner-operated interior plant company in Irvine, run by Mark Hunter, that designs, supplies, installs, and maintains live plants for Orange County offices. Inner Gardens is a Los Angeles garden design company and showroom founded by Stephen Block, with locations in Culver City and Malibu, known for rare antique containers, specimen plants, and high-end residential and hospitality work.
The core tradeoff is practical office plant service against luxury, design-led plant styling. Mr. PlantSoCal focuses on choosing plants that suit an office’s light and keeping them healthy on a set weekly or twice-monthly schedule. Inner Gardens pairs large specimen plants with vintage and antique containers for homes, hotels and restaurants, and also sells planters, garden furniture and decor from its showrooms.
For Orange County offices that want one local, owner-run provider to choose, install and care for live plants, we lean toward Mr. PlantSoCal. The setting matters: Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors on average, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
| Quick Verdict Best for Mr. PlantSoCal: Orange County offices that want one owner-run provider to choose, install, and care for live plants on a set weekly or twice-monthly schedule. Best for Inner Gardens: Los Angeles homeowners, hotels and restaurants that want statement specimen plants in rare antique or designer containers, plus garden design and decor. Decision rule: If you manage an Orange County office and want live plants kept healthy on a schedule, choose Mr. PlantSoCal. |
Mr. PlantSoCal vs Inner Gardens at a Glance
| Mr. PlantSoCal | Inner Gardens | |
|---|---|---|
| Based | Irvine, CA | 4444 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA, plus a Malibu nursery |
| Leadership | Owner Mark Hunter | Founder and President Stephen Block |
| Main clients | Orange County offices and businesses | High-end homes, hotels, restaurants and designers in Los Angeles |
| Service area | Orange County, including Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim | Los Angeles area, from its Culver City and Malibu locations |
| Core service | Live office plant design, supply, installation and maintenance | Interior and exterior plant design, specimen trees and container design |
| Containers | Selected as part of each proposal | Large collection of vintage and antique planters, plus its own resin collection |
| Retail | None | Showrooms selling planters, garden furniture, lighting and decor |
| Maintenance | Weekly or twice-monthly technician visits | Weekly or monthly service for interior and exterior plantings |
| First step | Free in-person consultation and written proposal | Free consultation for serious prospects, per the Franklin Report |
| Contractor license | None published | Landscaping licenses #827786 and #899260, active per BuildZoom |
| Public reviews | None yet on Google, Yelp, or Trustpilot | 3.6/5 from 12 Google reviews via Birdeye; also reviewed by Franklin Report |
Overview of Mr. PlantSoCal
Mr. PlantSoCal is an interior plant company based in Irvine, owned and run by Mark Hunter. It works with office managers, facilities managers, and business owners across Orange County who want live plants in their space without the care falling on their staff. Each project starts with a free in-person visit to look at the office’s light, layout, and style, followed by a written proposal covering plant selection, containers, and placement. The company then supplies and installs the plants, and trained technicians return weekly or twice a month to water, prune, feed, clean, and check plant health. Its main differentiator is one owner-run provider for design, plants, and ongoing care.
Overview of Inner Gardens
Inner Gardens is a Los Angeles garden design company and showroom founded by Stephen Block, a horticulture-trained designer and antiques collector. The Franklin Report lists its founding year as 1990. It has a showroom at 4444 Sepulveda Boulevard in Culver City and a nursery in Malibu. It offers custom landscape design, interior plant design, specimen trees and orchids, and sells one of the larger collections of vintage and antique garden planters, furniture, and decor, along with its own resin collection. Sunset lists clients such as Spago, Soho House, and Proper Hotels. It also works with interior designers and architects on residential and hospitality projects. Its main differentiator is design-led plant styling with rare containers.
Service Focus Compared
This is the clearest difference between the two companies.
Mr. PlantSoCal focuses on live plants for offices. Its work covers choosing plants that suit each room’s light, sourcing plants and containers, installing them, and keeping them healthy through scheduled visits. It can also refresh plants and containers when an office wants a seasonal change.
Inner Gardens focuses on design. It pairs large specimen plants and unusual varieties with antique, vintage, and modern containers, and it designs gardens, patios, and poolside plantings as well as interiors. Its job listings describe its maintenance crews as caring for plants and trees inside high-end Los Angeles homes.
Why it matters: an office usually needs plants that survive its light and get regular care. A home or hotel lobby may want a single statement tree in a one-of-a-kind container as the centerpiece of a room.
If your goal is healthy live plants in an Orange County office, Mr. PlantSoCal covers that directly. If you want a designer look built around rare containers and specimen plants, Inner Gardens offers it.
Service Relationship Compared
Mr. PlantSoCal is owner-operated. Mark Hunter owns the business and is the main contact, and the company publishes its visit options: weekly or twice-monthly. On each visit, a technician waters, prunes, feeds, cleans, and dusts plants, checks for pests, and watches plant health. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Inner Gardens works through its showrooms and design team. The Franklin Report says it charges a flat fee for design and bills installation by the hour. Its current website also offers ongoing maintenance for interior and exterior plantings on weekly or monthly schedules, tailored to the property, plant selection, and season.
Why it matters: an office that wants to know who is responsible for its plants, and when they will be serviced, benefits from a named contact and a set schedule. A homeowner furnishing a room may care more about seeing containers and plants in person before choosing.
If you want to deal with the owner and know your visit schedule upfront, Mr. PlantSoCal fits. If you want to browse plants and containers in a showroom with a designer, Inner Gardens fits.
Location and Track Record Compared
Mr. PlantSoCal serves Orange County, including Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, and Anaheim. Its website says it has provided interior plant services since 1980 and has served more than 1,200 commercial clients, although these figures are company-reported. Its own reviews page does not yet publish customer reviews.
Inner Gardens works from Culver City and Malibu on the Los Angeles Westside. It has a long public record: Sunset lists it in its design directory, the Franklin Report rates its work, and it names hospitality clients and designers it has worked with. BuildZoom shows two active California landscaping contractor licenses.
Why it matters: a provider close to your site can keep a regular route. Reviews and portfolios help you judge a vendor before a visit; when a company has fewer public signals, a free consultation and written proposal become the most useful test.
If your office is in Orange County, Mr. PlantSoCal is local. If your project is a Westside home, hotel, or restaurant, Inner Gardens is nearby and has the longer public portfolio.
Where Inner Gardens Wins
- Rare containers and specimen plants. It keeps a large collection of antique and vintage planters and unusual plant varieties.
- Showrooms you can visit. Its Culver City and Malibu locations let buyers see plants and containers in person.
- A long design record. It lists hospitality clients such as Spago, Soho House, and Proper Hotels.
Where Mr. PlantSoCal Wins
- Built for offices. Its work centers on choosing and caring for live plants in office spaces.
- Owner-operated. Mark Hunter owns the business and is the direct contact for accounts.
- Office-focused maintenance. Its programs are specifically built around commercial interiors, with weekly or twice-monthly service available.
- A free first step. Every project starts with a free in-person consultation and a written proposal.
- Orange County coverage. It serves Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, and Anaheim.
Pricing Compared
Neither company publishes service prices.
Mr. PlantSoCal prices each program by custom quote after a free site visit. The quote depends on the number of plants, the containers chosen, and how often technicians visit.
Inner Gardens offers a free consultation to serious prospects, charges a flat fee for design and bills installation hourly, according to the Franklin Report, which places it in the premium price range. Its containers and decor are priced individually through its showrooms and online store.
To compare fairly, ask each company for the same plant count and visit frequency, what each maintenance visit includes, the cost of containers, and the written terms for replacing plants that decline between visits.
What Users Say
All figures are as of 2026.
Mr. PlantSoCal has no public reviews yet. Its Trustpilot profile, Google Business Profile, and Yelp listing each show zero reviews. There is no customer feedback to summarize, and we found no public complaints.
Inner Gardens has a mixed but limited public review sample. Birdeye currently shows 3.6 out of 5 from 12 Google reviews. Positive reviewers mention the plant selection and service, while some negative feedback concerns the showroom experience and staff attentiveness. Franklin Report separately gives the company strong marks for its selection and design work and describes its pricing as premium.
Neither company has a large readable review sample, so ask both for references from spaces like yours.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Mr. PlantSoCal if:
- Your office is in Orange County, such as Irvine, Tustin, or Newport Beach.
- You want live plants cared for on a weekly or twice-monthly schedule.
- You want the owner as your direct contact.
- You want to start with a free in-person consultation and written proposal.
Choose Inner Gardens if:
- You want statement plants in antique or designer containers.
- Your project is a Westside Los Angeles home, hotel, or restaurant.
- You also want garden design, outdoor furniture, or decor.
Inner Gardens receives praise for its plant and container selection, although its small Google review sample also includes criticism of the showroom service experience. Mr. PlantSoCal has no reviews yet to summarize.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Mr. PlantSoCal do?
Mr. PlantSoCal designs, supplies, installs, and maintains live plants for offices across Orange County. Owner Mark Hunter and his technicians choose plants for each space’s light and layout, then visit weekly or twice a month to water, prune, feed, clean, and check plant health.
What is Inner Gardens known for?
Inner Gardens is known for pairing specimen plants and unusual varieties with rare vintage and antique containers. Founded by Stephen Block, it has a Culver City showroom and a Malibu nursery, and it designs interior and outdoor plantings for high-end homes, hotels and restaurants in Los Angeles.
How often should office plants be serviced?
Most office plants need regular watering, cleaning, and checks, and a service schedule depends on the plants, light, and air in the space. Mr. PlantSoCal offers weekly or twice-monthly visits. Ask any provider what each visit includes and how often plants are rotated or replaced.
Where are Mr. PlantSoCal and Inner Gardens located?
Mr. PlantSoCal is based in Irvine and serves Orange County, including Tustin, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, and Anaheim. Inner Gardens has a showroom at 4444 Sepulveda Boulevard in Culver City and a nursery at 6432 Busch Drive in Malibu, serving the Los Angeles area.
Do office plants make employees more productive?
One field study found that adding plants to two previously bare offices, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, increased productivity by 15 percent, according to the University of Exeter. Results in any single office will vary with the space and the people in it.
How much does indoor plant service cost?
Neither company publishes prices. Mr. PlantSoCal quotes each program after a free site visit, based on plant count, containers, and visit frequency. Inner Gardens charges a flat design fee and hourly installation, per the Franklin Report. Ask each for a written quote with the same scope.
