Meet Bobbi Bishop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bobbi Bishop. They and their team shared their story with us below:

After a wicked winter storm, Bobbi and Bruce Bishop (both retired art teachers) discovered that nature had knocked down nearly 500 trees on their 40-acre property. It took the Bishops two summers to clear the toppled trees. Once completed, they used their knowledge of color and texture to create spectacular flower and water gardens. The gardens turned out to be so spectacular that the Bishops and many of their friends started calling them “Their Little Slice of Heaven.”

Bobbi, an accomplished potter, and Bruce, a sculptor, along with four of their artist friends – Wyck Proctor, Joan Newland, Micki Samson, and Patti Behnke – came up with the idea to create a festival and opened the gardens for display and to sell their artwork. So in 1992, the six artists invited their neighbors, family, and friends, wondering if anyone would come. People did come, and there were about a hundred visitors in the first year. Soon, other artists asked to display their work during the mid-summer festival.

After that, the Lilyfest took on a life of its own. Lilyfest has grown to over 60 artists, with live music throughout the three acres of beautifully designed gardens, showcasing ponds and various unique garden sculptures. Look for plant sales and ask a master gardener your garden-related questions. Enjoy the nature trails and stroll through The Lost Viking Hoard Encampment. Lilyfest takes pride in showcasing Ohio artists, especially Hocking Hills artists.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Struggles over the past 32 years have included rain during the festivals, deer that enjoy eating the flowers as much as people enjoy viewing them, and always striving to create something new for visitors each year.

The Hocking Soil & Water Conservation District has helped tremendously by providing knowledge, expertise, and labor. It has introduced projects like a butterfly enclosure, peanut butter fencing to repel deer, and the Paul Hoskins nature trail.

Finally, in 2020, with COVID-19, we moved the event online. We could stream music online and offer guided virtual tours throughout the garden on our Facebook page instead of having an in-person event. It was a difficult year tending to the gardens in solitude without all our volunteers.

But that made us more appreciative of all their help the following year, 2021 when we reopened.

And it’s been a glorious reopening ever since.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Bobbi is a retired art teacher who left Worthington schools (Columbus, Ohio) and retired with a cabin in the woods in the Hocking Hills (before tourism was big). Outdoor education has always been an essential component of Bobbi’s career, and having a deep understanding and connection to flowers, plants, art, and how life-changing experiencing the outdoors can be is interwoven throughout all the planning and design of Lilyfest.

Bobbi’s lasting contribution is Bishop Educational Gardens, gifted to Hocking Soil & Water Conservation District in 2008, to ensure her property will always remain public. A fund established with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio will also provide funding for the maintenance of the gardens for future generations.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
What has worked best for Bobbi is joining various groups and organizations and getting to know the community. Being a team player and willing to work with others while not forgetting her values and mission to combine education with the outdoors for the betterment of the community has worked out the best. Taking risks to see what happens is also valuable sometimes too.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lilyfest.com

Image Credits
Becky Roley/Bright Side Studios