John Mini Podcast

An educational conversation with the Chief Horticulturalist at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, Andrew Engel.  Andrew introduces some misconceptions and misuses of Integrate Pest Management (IPM). He provides an overview of what is Integrated Pest Management - mostly from the lens of urban landscape horticulture. We close out the episode with some principles and considerations for an urban horticulturalist.

Thank you for taking the...

Welcome back to our four-part project spotlight on the famous Winter Garden Palm trees. The Winter Garden is an iconic atrium in downtown New York City within Brookfield Place. The project centers on sixteen 37’ Washingtonia Robusta palm trees and their journey across the country, a project over 3 years in the making.   

First and foremost, thank you to our client Brookfield Properties, and in this case, specifically Brookfield Plac...

I’m joined by Matt Wessol, the Director of Outdoor at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Matt oversees our outdoor urban landscape operations. His team is responsible for the care of some of New York’s most iconic landscapes. 

Matt and I reflect on our recent trip to the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Elevate Conference and Expo. It is the premier event for the outdoor landscape and horticulture trade.  

We share hig...

Welcome back to our four-part project spotlight on the famous Winter Garden Palm trees. The Winter Garden is an iconic atrium in downtown New York City within Brookfield Place. The project centers on sixteen 37’ Washingtonia Robusta palm trees and their journey across the country, a project over 3 years in the making.

First and foremost, thank you to our client Brookfield Properties, and in this case, specifically Brookfield Place a...

Welcome to this four-part project spotlight on the famous Winter Garden Palm trees. The Winter Garden is an iconic atrium in downtown New York City within Brookfield Place. The project centers on sixteen 37’ Washingtonia Robusta palm trees and their journey across the country, a project over 3 years in the making.  

First and foremost, thank you to our client Brookfield Properties, and in this case, specifically Brookfield Place and...

Welcome to this four-part project spotlight on the famous Winter Garden Palm trees. The Winter Garden is an iconic atrium in downtown New York City within Brookfield Place. The project centers on sixteen 37’ Washingtonia Robusta palm trees and their journey across the country, a project over 3 years in the making.  

First and foremost, we thank our client Brookfield Properties, and in this case, specifically Brookfield Place and the...

We sit down with Scott Ahlborn, Sales & Design Representative, and Matt Wessol, Director of Outdoor. They are urban landscape professionals from the John Mini Distinctive Landscapes team in New York and together bring over 40 years of experience to the table.  

Scott and Matt discuss the role of annual plants in the urban landscape.  

In our conversation we cover; 

• How they think about annuals in landscape design 
• When and how ...

In this project spotlight we sit down with Matt Spencer, designer at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Matt walks us through the design process of a rooftop garden in New York City.

Our conversation is focused on the role of images and renderings in the development of urban landscapes. We’ll discuss the types of graphics and renderings he developed for the project and what software he utilized. We’ll cover some pros and c...

We sit down with the Chief Horticulturalist at John Mini Distinctive landscapes, Andrew Engel.  

This is part one of a two-part episode. Andrew will walk us through an upcoming experiment with practical relevance to the world of urban horticulture and landscaping.  

Andrew will be testing four products and their efficacy in supporting urban plants through moments of drought.  

In this part, he explains how the experiment will be set u...

Today, I sit down with two colleagues from Plant Designs - a London, UK based interior landscaping firm. Jodie Sinclair and Callum Garner share their perspective on interior landscaping.

This episode was recorded in London at the end of a 3-day long program developed by John Mini Distinctive Landscapes and Plant Designs. As global leaders in interiorscaping, we meet annually to learn from each other in an endeavor to eleva...

In this recurring episode we sit down with professionals in our field to hear their perspective on the importance of indoor landscapes and horticulture in the built environment.  

We are joined by Liana Hutcheon and Jack Harris from the John Mini Distinctive Landscapes team. Together their experience working on interior landscapes is just shy of 50 years.  

They’ll share why indoor landscapes are important and the many roles an inter...

Have you ever thought intimately about the tools you use? The selection, care, and purpose of each tool? This deep thought is a sign of someone who is passionate about their work. 

In this recurring episode we highlight the importance of paying attention to the details in the craft of urban horticulture. The passionate always optimizes their process by having a clear reason why they make each decision.  

We sit down with Matthew Wess...

This is our first installment exploring the importance of outdoor urban landscapes. This will be a recurring conversation where we sit down with professionals in our field to understand their perspective on the importance of outdoor landscapes and horticulture in cities.  

In this episode, we are joined by Keith Behringer and Phil Adams from the John Mini Distinctive Landscapes team. Together they have a combined 28 years of experie...

This is our first conversation in a series of episodes that explore the balance of aesthetics, sustainability and functionality in urban landscapes. We sit down with professionals in our field to understand how they balance these three considerations.  

The design, construction and maintenance of urban landscapes must consider the intended function, horticulture, the visual appeal and beauty, environmental considerations and more. R...

In today's episode we sit down with the Chief Horticulturalist at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, Andrew Engel, to discuss the renewal of indoor landscapes. 

In the episode we discuss; 

• What is renewal of interior landscapes and why it needs to be considered.
• The need to renew elements of indoor landscapes, such as planting medium and the plants. 
• How the time frame for renewal varies for each element and site.
• The ...

Two teammates from the John Mini Distinctive Landscapes team discuss their roles in developing an award-winning landscape project for a client who set out to reimagine the typical office. 

Liana Hutcheon, Sales & Design lead, and Sam Barrett, Head of Design, walk us through the design development of an innovative indoor landscape for Le Truc, a creative collaborative launched by Publics Groupe worldwide. 

In t...

In Today's project spotlight, we'll be sitting down with the Chief Horticulturalist at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, Andrew Engel. Andrew has over 11 years of experience and practice in indoor horticulture and holds a Masters of Horticulture from RHS. His work with the John Mini team includes horticulture care at iconic indoor landscapes such as the Urban Garden Room at One Bryant Park, the Winter Garden at Brookfield...

This is an episode to introduce the John Mini Podcast. 

In a quick 7 minutes, we explain who the team behind the John Mini Podcast is, why we launched this program, what to expect from it, and who might be interested in our future episodes.   

If you're interested in horticulture and plants, urban development, gardening, and landscaping please take a listen in and join us on this journey. 

Thank you for taking...