Convenience store gardener's passion for plants brings sprouts of joy to downtown London

The windows of a downtown London storefront are bursting with life — from climbing cucumbers to sprouting lettuce and zucchini blooms — and it's all because of a convenience store owner's passion for plants.

"It's just a hobby," said Taeswi Cho, who runs Richmond Magazine & Variety with his wife, Eunhoi. 

"They are like my kids. Just growing, growing, growing, growing." 

It all started just a few years ago when construction, the pandemic and emptying office buildings in the downtown core led to a dip in business, Eunhoi said. 

Taking care of plants offered something different to focus on, she said.   

"He started with two pots, the next year had ten, and got more and more," she said. "Growing plants started healing us."

Upwards of 100 vegetable and house plants fill wire shelving and refrigerator tops around the store. He's built his own carts to wheel some outside the store for extra sun and has made makeshift planters from old pop bottles, a trick he say on YouTube. 

The plan is to make the whole store green, he said. 

There aren't price tags on any pots. They aren't for sale, Taeswi said. It's for the fun of watching plants grow. But if a customer really wants something, he'll consider. 

"I'm not interested in the money, I just love to take care of the plants. I just love how much they change."

"I love to grow plants, and customer love it too," he said. "It's just fun. I like fun." 

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But it has other benefits too. In the summertime, when the store gets warm, it offers some shade from sunlight and helps save energy and keep things cool. 

Customers have even come by asking for green onions to decorate their salads, Eunhoi said. Passersby come in and tell them how they enjoy watching the plants grow.