“Last year, I just happened to beat the world record.”
Humbly said, Alex Babich.
He’s a dad, outdoorsman, and, oh yeah—grower of the tallest sunflower on earth. Gardening in his Fort Wayne, Indiana, backyard, he’s been setting records for seven years. His first flower was 15 feet tall.
“I grew the very first sunflower after I realized that sunflowers are the national flower in Ukraine,” says Babich, nodding to his roots before settling in the U.S. in the early ’90s.
“When we posted on Facebook . . . everybody was all about it. So, I told the kids, ‘You know what, this is kind of neat. Let’s just see how far we can take this.’”
The next flower was 19 feet. The next, 25 feet, 2 inches. Then, 26 feet, 1 inch—until his whopping world-record sunflower measured in at 35 feet, 9 inches last year. That’s the height of a three-story building—he had to create his own scaffolding system starting with a cherry picker to reach the top.
“My whole goal last year was to try to bring the U.S. record back to Fort Wayne, back to Indiana,” he says. Not only did he cruise past that; he brought the whole world to Indiana.
“I run into people and they’re like, ‘Dude, you put Fort Wayne on the map. You put Indiana on the map,’” he says.
People traveled across state lines to photograph the giant stalk. A film crew even approached him to document his journey, taking it to the big screen.
Bloom
In the spring of 2024, Indiana filmmakers Victoria Britton, Malakai Tyne Bisel, and Derek Hockemeyer contacted Babich. They wanted to stop by his yard, check on the garden, and get updates on the sunflowers’ growth. Babich and his family said yes.
The (also award-winning) short film Bloom captures Babich’s success (and stressors). It wasn’t always sunshine and flowers—Babich’s journey came with severe weather, hungry wildlife, and serious dedication that often competed with family time. Babich detailed this for 35 filmed hours, edited to just over 20 minutes. It’s about a (very) tall sunflower, sure, but it’s more than that, too.
“Alex wants to be the best he can at something. And so he’s going to keep telling himself that he can do it, and he won’t give up,” Tyne Bisel says. “How can somebody balance their creative pursuits with their responsibilities?”
To Britton, the sunflower embodies community. Neighbors and enthusiasts rallied around the winning plant, named Clover. People online and off swapped seeds, shared gardening tips, and offered encouragement.
“A lot of his success has come from not only the passion within himself and his ability to create something out of nothing, but the community that he leans into with regard to gardening,” Britton says.
The roots spread, growing deep. They connect person to person and possibility to possibility.
“People feel like they’re a part of Alex’s journey,” Britton says. “I think it probably helps them imagine what’s possible in their own lives.”