John Mini Podcast

Hosted by Mark Mini

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Latest episode

Aug 2025

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EN-US

About the show

Welcome to the John Mini Podcast where we explore all things urban horticulture, indoors and out, through the perspectives of those who made it a career. Join us for casual yet informative conversations about indoor horticulture and gardening, outdoor urban landscaping, shifts and trends in the industry, and project spotlights. This is an official podcast of John Mini Distinctive Landscapes (John Mini). At John Mini, our purpose is to make places beautiful by bringing nature to the places where people live, work and play.

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19 recent

August 1, 2025Episode 1930 min

Native Plants in the Landscape Trade

An educational conversation with the Chris Giovanni at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Chris shares discusses the importance of native plants and their role in the landscape trade. Our conversations ranges from the importance of native plants, a framework for how to categorize native and non-native plants, and the direct and indirect impacts our plant selection has on the environment. We close out the episode with ideas to integrate natives into a client's vision and resources for your ongoing practice.Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

April 18, 2025Episode 1850 min

Intro to Integrated Pest Management in Urban Horticulture

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 time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

February 14, 2025Episode 1747 min

The Winter Garden Palms Part 4: A Case Study on the Possibilities of Indoor Landscapes

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 and their partner CBRE. Brookfield invests in what has become an iconic and beloved space, the Winter Garden. Their vision to nurture and cultivate a cultural hub around this one of kind atrium inspires. Without their vision and support, none of this is possible. Thank you. In this episode, part four, we sit down with Andrew Engel, the Chief Horticulturalist at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Andrew walks us through the maintenance and horticultural practices to keep these trees healthy and thriving.Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

January 3, 2025Episode 1636 min

Highlights from NALP’s Elevate: The Outdoor Landscape and Horticulture Event of the Year

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 highlights and trends from the event, including shifts in the industry’s use of technology and the power of developing professional relationships.Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

December 16, 2024Episode 151 hr 9 min

The Winter Garden Palms Part 3: A Case Study on the Possibilities of Indoor Landscapes

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 and their partner CBRE. Brookfield invests in what has become an iconic and beloved space, the Winter Garden. Their vision to nurture and cultivate a cultural hub around this one of kind atrium inspires. Without their vision and support, none of this is possible. Thank you. In this episode, part three, we sit down with Alex Scherba at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Alex was the project manager for the 2-week overnight installation. In our conversation, Alex walks us through the unique challenges and what it took to prepare. We’ll release part four on January 15th. In this final part we discuss the horticultural care and maintenance required for long term success. If you haven't already, give the first two parts of this project spotlight a listen. In part one we discuss the need to replant the trees periodically, the project’s history, and its importance to our industry. In part two, we take the listener through the daring 3 yearlong tree finding and acclimation period. Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

November 15, 2024Episode 141 hr 14 min

The Winter Garden Palms Part 2: A Case Study on the Possibilities of Indoor Landscapes

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 their partner CBRE. Brookfield invests in what has become an iconic and beloved space, the Winter Garden. 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 two of this project spotlight, we sit down with two teammates at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes: Bob Pressner – Product & Project Consultant, and Andrew Engel – Chief Horticulturalist. In our conversation, we reflect on the challenging process of hunting for the Winter Garden trees and the acclimation process that prepares them for a transition to the indoors.In part three the team grapples with the complexities of installing sixteen massive trees in two weeks of overnight work in downtown Manhattan. Finally, in part four we discuss the horticultural care and maintenance required for long term success.If you haven't already, give Part 1 a listen. We provide context on the project including why we replant the trees periodically, the project’s history, and its importance to our industry. Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

November 1, 2024Episode 1343 min

The Winter Garden Palms Part 1: A Case Study on the Possibilities of Indoor Landscapes

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 Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

October 2, 2024Episode 1239 min

The Role of Annual Plants in the Urban Landscape

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 environmentThank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

September 16, 2024Episode 1150 min

The Role of Renderings in Urban Landscape Design

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 cons of renderings to communicating landscape design.Our conversation also features fun digressions such as how constraints breed creativity and the importance of nurturing customer relationships to receive candid feedback.Here is a link to the project discussed, which includes pictures of the renderings and the rooftop after garden installation. Project Spotlight: From Rending to Reality. Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.

August 15, 2024Episode 1044 min

Ornamental Horticulture Drought Experiment Part 1

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 up, introduces the products he'll be testing, and the potential impact of the results. The second part of this episode will be recorded upon completion of the experiment. We’ll do an overview of the results.Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any questions, ideas for future episodes, or feedback. Please email us at Podcast@JohnMini.com. Wherever you consume your podcasts, please give us a like, review or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated! 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.