Daylilies star in doc

If filmmaking is a visual art form and nature is a powerful inspiration for art, then why aren’t there more films about plants and the people who are passionate about them?

PlantPop is one of those rarest of things — a horticultural film studio that seeks out interesting stories about plants and how they inspire and improve people’s lives. PlantPop, based in Suffolk, Va., is the brainchild of Arthur Parkerson who owns Lancaster Farms, a major plant producer in Virginia.

In the past 11 years, PlantPop has produced over 400 short documentary films that explore the relationship between people and plants. Many of the films are under 10 minutes in length, some are 30 minutes long.

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Daylily is PlantPop’s first feature-length documentary film (72 minutes in length). Directed by Maria Morris, this refreshingly beautiful and informative film captures the stories of growers, gardeners, breeders and plant enthusiasts who share a common love for daylilies.

In the opening scene, an artist is immersed in creating realistic daylilies from a variety of materials. A powder medium is carefully brushed onto the anthers on each of the six stamens attached at the base of the petals. Once completed, the artist arranges three colourful, handcrafted daylilies with their iconic, arching strap-like leaves into a beautiful urn. It’s a striking visual that underscores PlantPop’s belief “that philosophy was born in the garden, that culture starts with cultivation and that growing is the highest art.”

The film takes audiences to daylily farms, public and private gardens, horticultural shows, plant sales and even a wildly intense daylily auction — all at various locations throughout the United States. Daylily aficionados share their experiences, challenges and stories. But the film also travels to British Columbia where a botanical artist, Anna Tiulkina, describes how the process of painting a daylily reminds her of the daylilies that grew in her yard in Ukraine.

In the film, Melodye Campbell, the archivist and historian for the American Hemerocallis Society (AHS), traces the history of the organization and tells the amazing story of Arlow Stout, an American botanist and the pioneer breeder of the modern hybrid daylily.

Campbell highlights the 15 regions of the AHS and shows a map which includes Manitoba, as it is home to the Beausejour Daylily Gardens, the only AHS display garden on the Canadian Prairies. Beausejour Daylily Gardens is recognized internationally as the coldest AHS display garden on the planet.

So, daylily lovers in Manitoba really need to see this film.

Daylily premièred in July at Cultivate’25, a huge horticulture event held each year in Columbus, Ohio. The film will be exclusively offered to theatres and organizations in the U.S. for in-person screenings throughout 2026. After previewing Daylily, I had the opportunity to talk by phone with Maria Morris, the film’s director, who was at her home in Flying Hills, Pa. My first question was about the opportunity for the film to be screened in Canada.

“Our goal is to reach as many people as possible, including outside the U.S.,” said Morris. “Canada would be a great place.” Groups such as garden clubs, master-gardener organizations, horticultural societies, schools or theatres interested in hosting a screening, said Morris, can reach out directly to PlantPop via their website (plantpop.com/daylily).

Interestingly, Morris also said PlantPop plans to launch a streaming service next spring so anyone can access the wealth of horticulturally themed short films PlantPop offers. “The short films will include ads and will be free to watch,” said Morris. “Ad-free movies will also be available with a subscription.” Gardeners will be thrilled to see the expansive array of short films that will be made available for viewing.

With a background in documentary filmmaking, Morris, 25, works full time for PlantPop. She has a passion for storytelling and travels widely. “When we witness the beauty of plants, and the human stories that grow alongside them, we can’t help but value them more,” said Morris. “That sense of connection becomes its own call to action. When plants take on the role of protagonists, we naturally feel compelled to protect and nurture them. With Daylily, I have had so many positive responses of people wanting to get into the garden from the contagious energy of the daylily community.”

Daylily is truly motivational. “We really want to offer positive, uplifting stories that inspire people and give people hope,” said Morris. “In the film, you meet Patrick Dooley who was diagnosed with cancer. Through his work with daylilies and gardening, he was able to continue to have hope throughout that experience. So, there’s an element of horticultural therapy we get to see. I’ve learned from talking with all the people I interviewed for the film that working with plants really is a life-changing experience.”

You will also meet Dooley’s young daughter, Isabelle, who has discovered the heady, rewarding process of hybridizing daylilies. “It’s like a magical adventure,” she says in the film.

The film also travels to the Netherlands where viewers meet a plant breeder and learn about a groundbreaking new daylily poised to change everything we know about flowering plant. Daylily also visits daylily fields and markets in China. The film explores the decorative and functional properties of daylilies, as well as their untapped potential. Daylily takes an informative look at hybridizing and examines what is important in making the daylily a better garden plant. Expect to be fascinated.

Beautiful time-lapse photography by Clayton Leverett and a marvellous soundtrack by composer Jake Hull make this a very enjoyable film to watch. Arthur Parkerson, founder of PlantPop, is the film’s executive producer. Kendahl Huber is the horticultural producer, and Laura Christian is the supervising producer.

“We don’t currently have any planned screenings in Canada,” said Christian, “but now that we know there may be groups interested, we would love to be able to connect and see if they would like to host a screening. We are incredibly proud of this work and look forward to sharing it.”

To watch the official trailer for Daylily, visit wfp.to/iOD.

colleenizacharias@gmail.com

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