Meet Meredith McGraw Bishop | Grower & Floral Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meredith McGraw Bishop and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meredith, how does your business help the community?
In some regards, the world is in tatters. We have weathered a worldwide pandemic, not without significant damage to the social fabric of our communities. We’re, perhaps, now witnessing across the Middle East & Eastern Europe the beginning battles of a greater world war to come. Politically & socially, we’ve never been more polarized or isolated in our own myopic perspectives. Add to this the transhumanist impulse behind the growing AI movement which is rapidly advancing through an untold number of fields of human endeavor, leaving them progressive, yes, but increasingly void of true meaning.

Against this background of universal, existential angst, I grow flowers. What a small thing- minuscule in the face of what surrounds us. How do flowers help the world? Well, I’m sure they don’t. Except that, perhaps, against all that is out of our control, they serve as a reminder to, as Chesterton said, ‘rally the really human things’. And in my opinion, the really human things can only be rallied on the human level- which is to say the individual level- which is to say the minuscule level. It is on this level that we bake bread, or hold hands, or wipe the tear of a child, or sing, or hug, or debate. The beauty of flowers is a signpost to the things that can’t be taken from us from artificial intelligence, or national deterioration, or international conflict. Growing flowers- growing ANYTHING- is a way to construct order out of chaos, to transform abstract meaning into something tangible, and to manifest what is good on a very small scale, which is the only scale that really matters in a human life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My professional life has been all over the board, but a common thread would be ‘jack of all trades & master of none’. I have jumped from medical sales to real estate to business owner to classical educator to small-scale grower and designer. Looking back, I think curiosity has led the way- opening doors to knowledge and experiences I would not have dreamed of needing nor desiring in my younger years- yet each experience building on the prior in a way I couldn’t predict but wouldn’t now change. I find life to be like that- a river you jump into and let it take you where it will.

The through-lines for me have been curiosity and beauty. As a grower and floral designer now in mid-life, I see so much overlap with the impetus behind majoring in art history during my undergraduate days. Though its form is different, the substance is largely the same: a need to understand what unites us through time, and a desire to let beauty be a portal to meaning.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh gosh, this feels like a trick question! I don’t think anyone has ever looked to me for a hip time in Nashville, as I’m always the last to know about new places. That being said, Nashville is awash in things to do, and it would be hard to grow bored here without trying very hard.

I’ll describe my perfect day in Nashville, but you should know this: it’s a warm, sunny day in late May. I’d probably begin with a brunch spot like Roz Pony or Le Peep in Belle Meade, and from there wander over to Cheekwood to walk around the spring gardens. Afternoons at the Frist Art Museum are always pleasurable, followed by an early dinner at either Margot or Once Upon a Time in France, both charming French spots with delicious food. And finally, I’d find some live music to enjoy to end the evening. Though touristy, something I have loved is the candlelight series held inside the Parthenon, Nashville’s to-scale replica of the ancient Greek temple.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout is to my family, who have never for one second made me feel vulnerable & alone in the face of life’s vicissitudes.

Website: www.bloomandbounty.com

Instagram: bloom_bounty

Image Credits
Brooke Rainey Morgan Photography