♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.

(theme music playing).

WENDEL PATRICK: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

My name is Wendel Patrick, and I am the host of "Artworks."

I am a musician, a professor, a photographer, uh, and a lover of the arts.

So, I first came across Stem and Vine when I was walking through the neighborhood, which I often do.

And, uh, I looked in the window and saw lots of plants.

And, um, on subsequent occasions when I would walk past at different hours, there would be lots of people inside.

I peeked in the window and saw that there was a bar, uh, and was just really curious about, you know, what's, what's, what is this?

What's going on in inside?

And so, at some point, I came in and was just blown away with, uh, what actually is in here.

There's, there's just so much.

QUINCY GOLDSMITH: My name is Quincy Goldsmith.

I live in Baltimore, but I'm from a little bit everywhere.

Uh, I'm an entrepreneur.

I own a cultural center in downtown Baltimore called Stem and Vine.

Horticulture is, I would define it as a combination of science and creativity, um, where plants are used for nourishment, medicine, and art.

Um, because we are in Baltimore, um, majority minority city, my audience is different and, and I can market to them in a way I might not be able to do in another area.

Um, the city is probably 38% women of color, which is a huge demographic that I think we can put products, uh, events, uh, in front of for success.

Sometimes we have three or four events a day.

We've, we have, uh, Pilates, yoga, um, we do, uh, art openings.

We've, uh, had memorial services.

We've had engagement parties, uh, everything but get someone married, and we're working on that.

Um, we hope that this holiday season will be, uh, a positive one for holiday events.

Um, yeah, we do lots of different things here.

We love to create terrariums.

Uh, we're working on, uh, community gardens where the science, uh, is used creatively for, for art and beauty.

I'd like for the, the for-profit for this space to, to end up just being a gift shop for the non-profit where we bring people together for, for positive change using horticulture in nature.

WENDEL: So, Quincy's been amazing since the first time I, I came in here.

Uh, Quincy's been super open to answering any questions that I had, and I had a lot, 'cause I'm relatively new to being a plant dad.

I'm enjoying it a lot.

Uh, but Quincy's been really helpful in terms of, uh, telling me how I should care for plants, care for the, the plants that I have.

Um, each time I've acquired something new and I've had a question, uh, Quincy's been really great about telling me what the, uh, what I should look out for, uh, has also recommended to me that I not get, uh, certain plants based on my, uh, level of knowledge.

And, uh, but, uh, yeah, it's been, it's been really great.

I look forward to seeing Quincy every time I come in.

Quincy Goldsmith.

So, we are here at Stem and Vine.

QUINCY: Yes.

WENDEL: Uh, an amazing location and venue here in Baltimore.

And, um, how are you?

QUINCY: I'm wonderful.

WENDEL: Yeah.

QUINCY: I'm wonderful, I'm very happy to, to have you in to, to showcase the space and talk about plants.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm, yeah.

So, I, um, so I live in the neighborhood.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And I would walk past the front of Stem and Vine often and didn't really know what was in here.

And, uh, started to look through the, the window and would see all kinds of amazing things going on in here.

And I, I would think to myself, "Oh, what, what, what is that?

What, what is this place?"

Um, can you talk a little bit about what Stem and Vine is?

QUINCY: Uh, sure, sure, um, we are a plant shop at our core, uh, plants and nature is, uh, is what, uh, uh, what our foundations are built on.

Um, but the cultural aspect of plants is very, very important to me.

Um, we, uh, we want to talk about where plants are from, uh, so, uh, the shop is aggregated, um, by region, so you get a little bit of education, um, on where plants are from, how they're used in these different areas.

Um, we're also a, a wine bar and a bottle shop, because those are plant-based products.

Uh, and we also tie those into to their, their, um, uh, their native origins as well.

Um, we love to showcase art.

Uh, currently we have, uh, Latin American, uh, art on display for, uh, um, Hispanic Heritage Month.

Uh, but that's also a cultural component that, that we like to, to build into what we've created.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm, yeah, there's so much that goes on here.

And at some point, obviously, I came through the door after like my fourth or fifth time of just saying like, "What, what is in there?"

And, uh, I remember coming in and meeting you for the first time and was really blown away by not only the, the plans that you have in here, but the decor, uh, the, the artwork, the fact that you have, uh, an open atrium, which I didn't realize you had until I came in.

And I think what struck me the most was your, uh, openness and willingness to answer questions.

And I am a, a recent plant, uh, what would you, what would you call it?

QUINCY: Plant daddy?

WENDEL: Uh, plant daddy?

Yes.

QUINCY: Yeah.

WENDEL: I spent many years as like a plant, uh, distant uncle.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: I would say.

Um, and, um, yeah, I remember I started to come in and I would ask you, I'd say, you know, what is that?

Or, you know, and you would answer the question and give me a little bit more information, and um, I've acquired a few plant children from you.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And, um, so as someone who has had a relationship with plants for far, far longer than I have, can you tell me where that relationship and love originated from for you?

QUINCY: Um, I, I don't have like a, a long history of, you know, my mother or grandmother had a ton of plants in the house.

I, my, my grandmother had a Swedish Ivy, that, that, uh, pieces of it have been passed along, uh, into my family and, you know, around the country.

Um, but, uh, but I think for me, I'm, I'm a, I'm a retired engineer, I used to, uh, to work in the, uh, the Japanese auto industry.

Um, I designed steel and aluminum, um, for, uh, specifically for, for, uh, the Japanese industry.

And, and although it's, it seems like a stretch, metals come out the ground, there are natural science, plants are, uh, also, uh, you know, the similarly out of the ground and, and are a science, uh, horticulture botany.

So, there is a connection there.

Um, but the real connect for me was, um, with, with my travel, um, in my professional career, uh, getting to see these plants and these spirits and these wines in their native areas.

And, and, uh, some of those areas are places where, where, um, where Black or Brown people are from, which is, uh, you know, the majority population here in Baltimore.

Uh, so I saw that as an opportunity to, to connect culture to this population, uh, in a way that folks can take it home, uh, bring it into their lives, um, share it with their families.

Um, you, you did mention about how I answer questions and, um, one thing I, I love to say is that we, we try to attract intellectually curious people, um, people that want to know, um, this or that, or different ways that they can, uh, augment their lives, uh, different information they can share with their families, um, and just to, to help better themselves.

So, um, that's something that, that we definitely want to try to, to strive to, to do here.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: Thanks for recognizing that.

WENDEL: Oh, absolutely.

Um, what are some of the plants that you have in your home?

QUINCY: Um, I have big plants, I love big plants.

I'm not one of those people that wants to buy little and watch it grow.

I, I buy big plants and watch 'em get bigger.

I've got trees in my house.

Um, I've, uh, two, two large Ficus.

I have a Ficus Audrey, uh, on my third floor that's probably about 12 feet.

Um, when I first started this, I, I probably had about 150 plants 'cause I wanted to learn how to take care of 'em.

And actually, plants that I have problems taking care of, I don't even sell.

If I can't tell you how to take care of it, I don't wanna sell it.

Uh, there's also a few plants I'm not the biggest fan of 'cause they're more difficult and I want people to have success, um, with their, uh, with their horticultural, uh, exploits here.

So, um, yeah, most of my plants are pretty well established.

They're also a lot easier to take care of when they're bigger.

WENDEL: Yeah, so I will say that now when I go around my home and count my plants, uh, I'm now officially at a number where I lose count sometimes.

And, uh, but I'm, I'm still relatively new to, to, to all of this.

And, um, you know, for a long time I really was afraid of having plants, 'cause I just, anytime, uh, historically that I had had a plant or I had to take care of someone's plants, uh, it did not necessarily go well.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And, um, but the plants that I have now, many of, uh, which I've gotten here and you've helped me with, are all thriving.

QUINCY: Okay.

WENDEL: And, uh, you know, one of the things I've learned, I, I think, uh, oftentimes things can be oversimplified, right?

So, when you're growing up, you learn that plants need water and sunlight.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And in speaking with you and, uh, getting to know more about plants, uh, I've learned that there's so much subtlety to what certain plants need or, or, or, or don't need.

And, um, yeah, I was wondering if you could speak maybe a little bit about your relationship to caring for plants, if you, uh, find yourself particularly attached to any of the plants in your home.

All of them.

QUINCY: Um, great question, great question.

Um, I, uh, people ask me all the time how I take care of all these plants and, well, my goal is not to have to, to sell them pretty quickly.

Uh, but, um, but they, they generally take care of me, I haven't been sick in two years from coming in here every day.

Um, and, uh, and we, we do communicate.

I mean, I'm not one that talks to my plants, but, um, there's, there's language and communication going on.

I mean, we all know in here who the difficult plants are.

Um, and we keep an eye on them.

Uh, but, um, but I, I have a, I wouldn't say I even have a certain plant day that I, that I do a, a regular routine.

Um, but we know what we're doing, yeah.

We, we, we know, uh, where to, where to look for signs of, of potential concern.

Uh, as I mentioned before, I don't bring difficult plants in generally.

Um, and when I do, we've, we've got our eye on 'em, um, but, uh, but like I said, they, they, they generally take care of me.

I, my blood pressure's pretty low.

Um, I'm healthy.

Uh, and my mind is, is, is my mental health, I think is pretty good.

Um, I take part in horticultural therapy daily, um, and it, it grounds me and I see what it does to others.

So, I, I know that, that what we're doing here is positive benefits.

WENDEL: One of the things that I love about Stem and Vine is your connection to the community.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: You have so much that goes on here.

You have yoga classes, you have, uh, other wellness endeavors.

Uh, you have music, you, um, host events as well, and you have a wine bar.

QUINCY: Yes.

WENDEL: And whenever I come in here, there's often people sitting at the tables and maybe having a conversation, maybe having a drink.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: Uh, what, what is the importance do you think of, um, tying all of these things, uh, together?

QUINCY: Um, first of all, we do so many things, uh, and I need to have a, a common core through it, or else it would be a little bit, it wouldn't make sense, it'd be too staggered, like, I'm trying to do too much.

And we are doing a lot.

But I think that it, it all fits underneath the, the wellness umbrella.

Um, maybe even the horticultural wellness, 'cause it, it, it all ties back to, to, uh, to plants in, in some kind of way.

Um, and when, when something is brought to us that, that doesn't fit it, it seems pretty obvious.

It's like, okay, that's, that's not, that's not a Stem and Vine, you know, that, that at least has to go somewhere else.

But, um, we, I, you didn't mention, we also have a nonprofit, uh, the Stem and Vine Community Foundation, um, where we, again, you know, focus on community.

Um, the S and V, uh, is for support and value.

We support and value our communities, uh, at the Stem and Vine Community Foundation.

So, uh, we have after school programming, we've done a summer camp, we want to work with, uh, with a multitude of, uh, of city schools.

Um, with the geriatric population, um, again, so many things can fit underneath our umbrella.

Um, literacy is important to us, even though that's not plant-based, um, it's important.

And, uh, and we think that that can fit under what we're trying to do.

Financial literacy, um, there's a number of different things that we want to do here.

We love to support cultural, um, endeavors, cultural celebrations.

We do a, um, a monthly Latin music series called La Sonora, where we celebrate a different Latin culture every month.

Um, I love our Haitian, uh, benefit that we've done, uh, twice now, this year, uh, twice, once this year, once last.

Um, so those are the types of, of things we want to do.

We wanna bring communities together, um, uh, so they can support each other.

Um, and we want to value their contributions.

WENDEL: That's amazing.

So, Stem and Vine, can you tell me where that name, where does that name come from?

QUINCY: Um, that was, uh, my wife's wonderful contribution to, uh, to this, uh, amongst others.

Um, the, uh, the Stem of course, um, for STEM science, technology, engineering, and math.

My wife's also, um, a technical person, and, uh, but also, um, your wine glass has a stem and plants grow on stem.

So, we, we've got a lot of stem in here.

We actually have a, a room, uh, a classroom that we call the STEM room.

That's our, our space that we, uh, have dedicated for education.

WENDEL: Wow.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: Um, and you, you talked a little bit about your, uh, history with the automotive industry as an engineer.

What was your, what was your childhood like with regards to, uh, plants, trees, horticulture?

QUINCY: Um, my father was military, so we traveled a lot, um, I was born in, in the States and, uh, moved to Japan.

My sister was born in Japan.

Uh, lived throughout, uh, throughout the States, and then, uh, spent quite a bit of time in, uh, the United Kingdom.

Um, and honestly, I don't, I don't have many memories of plants in my childhood.

Um, like I said, my grandmother, she, she had some plants.

Um, and then I, I knew about that different members of my family had, uh, you know, a piece of one that she had, uh, after she passed.

But I, I can't say that there's a, a deep connection to, to plants from an early age.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: It's kind of later in life.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: But I will say this, though, one of the things that, that I noticed when, when I was traveling, um, and, uh, I traveled extensively with, uh, with my engineering work.

I worked for a Swedish and Chinese company, and I've lived and worked probably, uh, 15 to 20 different countries, but whenever you fly into somewhere, the first thing you notice are their plants, the trees, um, you see those from the sky.

And when you get on the ground, the food you eat, you know, the, the type of plant food or the, or your drinks, the cocktails or your, your wine or spirits.

It's all plant-based.

And I noticed that, um, uh, pretty soon after I started traveling professionally and that caught my eye.

And, and, uh, and then I did start to, to have a, a small plant collection, uh, maybe about 10 years ago.

Uh, but then around COVID is when this really kind of kicked in.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah.

What is it that you would hope somebody coming into Stem and Vine for the first time, uh, what is it that you would hope they would leave with besides possibly some plants?

QUINCY: Plants, a piece of art, uh... Um, solving some intellectual curiosity.

You know, coming in and asking questions, um, about their own plants, about plants that they have interest in.

Uh, I hope they, they would learn to not water so much.

Uh, 'cause I think 80% of plants... WENDEL: Duly noted.

QUINCY: Thank you.

I think 80% of plants, uh, die because people, uh, are... they're helicopter, plant parent, they need to back up a little bit.

Um, uh, but if you know where your plant is from, you have a much better chance of knowing how to take care of it.

If it's from North Africa where it, it doesn't rain, then you don't need to water your plant every day, every week, maybe not even every month.

Um, if it's from, you know, a place that gets a lot of rain, then, then you need to, to water it more often.

But even in those circumstances, it's where you put it in your home, how much sun it's getting, um, how much water it's drinking, and then you, you know, make some, some, some modifications.

But your plants will talk to you, you just got to listen to them and, and watch, uh, watch what they're, watch what they're showing you.

WENDEL: Yeah, that's, I've definitely learned that.

One of the plants that I, I acquired recently is one of the plants that I would see when I was a child in Trinidad.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And I had not seen one in, in ages where you touch and it, it, uh, closes.

QUINCY: Okay.

WENDEL: Yeah, yeah.

So as a, as a child, 'cause my, my father's from Trinidad, my mother's from Jamaica.

And when we would travel to Trinidad, we would often stay at the Trinidad Hilton, and they would have those shame plants just outside and around.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And my sister and I would try to touch as many of them as we could, 'cause they would just like shy away.

But there's, there are other plants that look like those, and I, I've seen them in the States.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And I would always go and try to touch them, and then nothing would happen... QUINCY: And then nothing... WENDEL: Yeah.

So, I was pretty surprised when I saw one the other day at a, at a greenhouse, and I... QUINCY: Oh, really?

Okay.

WENDEL: Yeah, I, I bought it here.

I was so excited.

And so, yeah.

Like, I, I'll like fiddle with it at home.

I'll be like... QUINCY: I love that, that, I mean, like I said, it ties back to your culture.

WENDEL: Yeah.

QUINCY: You know, you can connect with that and think about home.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: Think about your family, um, you know, maybe might get you to eat more food from back home, you know, just to connect, uh... WENDEL: Well, I already eat enough of that.

QUINCY: But there have been so many stories, people have come in here and told me about, uh, you know, the things that their grandmother told them to do for home remedies.

Some of 'em, I'm like, that can't be true.

You know, there's one lady who had a, there's um, a cactus, I think it's in Opuntia cactus, but it's like big paddles.

And she said that if she had a headache, her grandmother would tell her to, she'd put one on each side of her head, and you have to wrap a banana leaf around it, and go to bed, and it would suck out, you know, whatever was giving her, her headache.

Um, but, uh, there are so many stories like that.

WENDEL: Well, you know, years ago I was, uh, in Bolivia and I was actually up at, uh, uh, Lake Titicaca, which is, uh, I believe I was told it's, it's the highest, uh, it's, it's one of the highest lakes in, in the world in terms of altitude.

And so, I was there for a couple of days and, uh, there's a, a hike there that you can, that you can do, um, up to a holy site.

And I, I've never been so affected by altitude in my life in terms of walking up.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And, um, and I kept having to stop.

And, uh, and there was a, a Bolivian man coming down, and he saw, you know, he saw, uh, myself and, uh, my partner, we were struggling a little bit.

And he, he looked at us, and he looked at the ground, and he pulled something out of the ground and gave it to us.

And he said, just, just smell this as you go.

And I remember thinking like, "What?

Why?"

And immediately, immediately it helped.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: Yeah.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: I, I was, I was shocked.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm, I love that, I love it.

Do you remember when, uh, when COVID first happened, they talked about how, uh, all of Africa was gonna die?

'Cause there's like six ventilators on the continent, and it didn't happen.

WENDEL: No.

QUINCY: It didn't happen.

And I'm, I'm sure these plants had something to do with it.

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: You know?

WENDEL: Mm-hmm.

QUINCY: Exactly.

WENDEL: Yeah.

Um, you know, in terms of connection to family and culture... QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: Um, as I mentioned, both of my parents are from the Caribbean, and my, um, both of them are actually very, very much into, uh, into plants and greenery.

And my mother, when she lived here in Baltimore, she had a garden in the backyard and, you know, she loved to grow her own vegetables and, um, had a number of plants and she would sometimes ask me to help her.

And, you know, I would help, but it, it, it wasn't my connection, you know, it was, it was hers, and I, I helped her because she asked me to.

Uh, but since her passing, I've definitely felt more of a connection to her through the plants that I have and through caring for the plants.

QUINCY: Mm-hmm.

WENDEL: And, um, so that's something that I'm really, really grateful for.

And certainly, my conversations with you when I've come in have really helped with that.

QUINCY: Well, good.

WENDEL: So, I, I'm very grateful for that as well.

QUINCY: Good, good.

I will say, um, I wish people did not give peace lilies when someone passes that... I, I try to, to steer people towards easier plants so they don't create additional stress on themselves, 'cause they're not the easiest ones to take care of.

Um, um, but, uh, you know, so many people do connect with, uh, with their loved ones through the plants that, uh, they either had or were given.

Um, so yeah.

That's, that's special, I hear a lot of stories like that.

WENDEL: Yeah.

Well, I feel like having you here in Baltimore and having Stem and Vine here in Baltimore is really an amazing thing and very beneficial to the community and to the city.

And so, I just wanted to tell you that.

QUINCY: Well, thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate, uh, you coming in today and for your continued patronage and for keeping the children alive.

Thank you.

WENDEL: Absolutely.

I may leave with a plant.

QUINCY: Okay, a piece of art too.

WENDEL: Piece of art.

Thank you.

QUINCY: You're welcome.

(theme music playing).

WENDEL PATRICK: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.