John Mini Podcast

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 their partner CBRE. Brookfield invests in what has become an iconic and beloved space, the Winter Garden. And their vision to nurture and cultivate a cultural hub around this one of kind atrium is inspiring. Without their vision and support, none of this is possible. Thank you.

In part one of this project spotlight, we sit down with three teammates at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes: Jack Harris – VP of Sales & Design, Bob Pressner – Product & Project Consultant, and Andrew Engel – Chief Horticulturalist. We’ll provide context, share some of the project’s history, and discuss the project’s importance to our industry.

In part two, we’ll reveal the challenging process of tree finding and acclimatation.

In part three the team grapples with the complexities of installing sixteen massive trees in two weeks of overnight work.

And, in part four we'll discuss the horticultural care required for these trees in the Winter Garden.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at [email protected].
And a big thank you to all our clients at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. You allow us to make our passion our profession.
A special shout out to Keith Behringer, teammate at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, for producing our podcast’s theme music.
Till next episode, if you are looking for some urban landscape inspiration, be sure to explore our website and portfolio at www.johnmini.com.

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 to use annual or seasonal plants
• The emotional connections annual plantings evoke
• How annuals need to be balanced with consideration for urban life and the environment

Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at [email protected].
And a big thank you to all our clients at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. You allow us to make our passion our profession.
A special shout out to Keith Behringer, teammate at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, for producing our podcast’s theme music.
Till next episode, if you are looking for some urban landscape inspiration, be sure to explore our website and portfolio at www.johnmini.com.

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 difference in planning for renewal of interiorscapes versus a traditional outdoor landscape, while touching on the commonalities between an interiorscape and an urban outdoor landscape.
• When to start planning for renewal in urban horticulture.

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 Place, the Ford Foundation atrium, and New York's largest indoor living green wall.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at [email protected].
And a big thank you to all our clients at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. You allow us to make our passion our profession.
A special shout out to Keith Behringer, teammate at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, for producing our podcast’s theme music.
Till next episode, if you are looking for some urban landscape inspiration, be sure to explore our website and portfolio at www.johnmini.com.

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 this project spotlight, our guests highlight;

• Multi-disciplinary collaboration in urban horticulture and interior landscaping.
• How stories support the development of meaningful workspaces and collaborative settings.
• Why it's important to stay bold and distinctive in your craft.
• The commitment required for successful landscape design and the nuances of project execution.

You can find pictures and a short description of the featured project here: https://www.johnmini.com/projects/jardin-of-color

Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at [email protected].
And a big thank you to all our clients at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. You allow us to make our passion our profession.
A special shout out to Keith Behringer, teammate at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, for producing our podcast’s theme music.
Till next episode, if you are looking for some urban landscape inspiration, be sure to explore our website and portfolio at www.johnmini.com.

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 Place, the Ford Foundation atrium, and New York's largest indoor living green wall.
Andrew walks us through a challenging interior landscape project that features three large Terminalia Buceras trees, also known as Bucida Buceras or Black Olive trees. The trees are part of an indoor atrium and amenity space in a residential building in New York City.
In this episode we discuss;

• The horticultural challenges of Terminalia Buceras in commercial urban landscaping.
• The daring role of a horticulturalist who is brought in late in the game to rescue a struggling indoor landscape.
• Multi-disciplinary collaboration when designing indoor landscapes.
• The importance of working with an indoor horticulturalist, not only during maintenance, but also during the design and installation phase of interiorscapes to effectively assess and receive recommendations for environmental needs.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at [email protected].
And a big thank you to all our clients at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. You allow us to make our passion our profession.
A special shout out to Keith Behringer, teammate at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, for producing our podcast’s theme music.
Till next episode, if you are looking for some urban landscape inspiration, be sure to explore our website and portfolio at www.johnmini.com.