ATHENA’S ROBE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 30” (76cm) Slight musky fragrance.
Give your garden an alluring covering with this multi-colored beauty. Solid gold standards stand proudly above mid blue-violet falls graced with harvest gold hafts and light mauve-brown distal banding. Large marigold beards ensure it won’t be lost among the others. Shorter stalks stand against strong winds and have 2 branches plus spur and 7-8 buds. Robust growth.
Sdlg. CC124B: Z137A: (W152B: (T80A: (Fantasy In Pink x Q6A: (Dearie x Drifting Bubbles)) x Multnomah Falls) x Shivaree) X Z115A: (V160B: (S158A, Like A Breeze pod parent x Enough Is Enough) x Celebration)

GETTING SOME SUN (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 30” (76cm) Slight musky fragrance.
Moderately sized flowers and shorter stalks help keep this sunny creation upright when the weather turns cloudy and rainy. Mid-dark yellow standards are echoed in the color of the hafts, band and texture veins of the white falls. Big mid marigold beards demand you come closer. Two widely spaced branches carry 7 buds.
Sdlg. CC124H: Z137A: (W152B: (T80A: (Fantasy In Pink x Q6A: (Dearie x Drifting Bubbles)) x Multnomah Falls) x Shivaree) X Z115A: (V160B: (S158A, Like A Breeze pod parent x Enough Is Enough) x Celebration)

DEVIL IN DISGUISE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
The disguise is a brilliant success. Who’d expect anything evil about this lavish blending of dark to mid purples adorned with an angelic near white beard. Super wide falls with lightly ruffled edges allow an unobstructed display of its alluring color. Minimal plicata marking of the standards at the midrib hint at its plicata heritage. Three well-spaced branches carry 9-10 buds.
Sdlg. DD62A: AA78B, Misplaced Dots sib X Awash In Purple

ACCENT ON COLOR (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Flowers are a riot of colors and patterning from near red to maroon to indigo, in various overlays and blendings. All of this is further accented with large marigold beards. Well branched stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 9-10 buds. Unique!
Sdlg. Z127E: W60A: (Go For Broke x S116A: (Name Game x P228A: (Palace Symphony x Blyth N197-2: (Devil's Own x Fiery Temper)))) X Watercolor Print

HIGH ON LIFE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Not only does High On Life have gorgeous flowers, but its hallmark is the super strong show branched stalks. Dark lilac standards blend to light silvery lilac margins with neat mauve pink styles peering out. White ground falls are washed light pink overlaid with mid pink texture veins. Coral beards jazz things up. Three to four branches plus spur have 9-11 buds.
Sdlg. BB143N: Gay Romance X Z52D: (V110B: (Fred And Ginger x Go For Broke) x V159I, Pleasure's All Mine sib)

ANTI HERO (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91cm) Sweet fragrance.
An absolutely stunning flower with very wide overlapping hafts and exuberant ruffles. The color of the standards is a very complex blending of orange, light orange, pink, and lavender tones. Falls are creamy white with peach touched hafts and a wide lilac to lavender band. Anti Hero is also blessed with nicely branched and budded stems, making her a winner on the show bench as well. Sdlg. TO187B: Just Between Us X unknown seedling number, illegible tag

ARE YOU KIDDING ME (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
The name was inspired by our young iris enthusiast friend Dylan Just. If you have ever seen his lively inspiring iris videos, you will certainly recognize the phrase “are you kidding me” as his signature punchline. It is a very fitting name, and very descriptive of the way I myself felt the year it first bloomed. It comes from the line of unique iris that have been coined the ‘pansy face’ pattern. I love everything about this iris, from its lavender standards with maroon base, to its wide and ruffled falls with deep maroon central overlay. The beards are blended a mysterious old gold to purple. Strong growth and gorgeous show stems just solidify the deal. Sdlg. TN180A: Feel The Beat X Autumn Tease sibling

AUTUMN RICHES (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 35” (89cm) Slight fragrance.
Light lemony buff standards are heavily shot pink in the centers, becoming veining towards the edge. Falls are a rich pumpkin orange. Nicely ruffled flowers that have amazing garden impact with color that radiates across the garden. Sdlg. TN128ZZ: TI225ZZ, Untamed Glory sibling X Come To Life

BEATEN TO THE PUNCH (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Very early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Sweet fragrance.
Very light lemon standards with a violet flush at the base sit atop a very complex patterned fall; its lavender base color is overlaid with a deep violet brindled wash, then bordered in a buff pink band. Beards are a very weird brown to black. The whole package is quite dramatic and intriguing; it always draws me in from across the garden for a closer look. Beaten To The Punch is one of the first to start to bloom, and is held on tall, well branched and budded stems. Beautiful. Sdlg. TN89YY: Stitches sibling X Hit The Bullseye sibling

BEHIND THE SCENES (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Midseason-late 39” (99cm) Slight fragrance.
Eggshell standards have an ecru to greenish yellow base. Falls are very light lavender with a maroon haft, and a deep purple central wash that extends down further in the middle. Large flowers are held on very tall stems. Unique and different. Sdlg. TN47ZZ: Feel The Beat X Space Signal

BLIZZARD WARNING (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm) Slight fragrance.
When faced with the daunting task of naming irises each year, I often put the photos up on the computer screen to help inspire me. When I saw all of the photos for this one, I instantaneously said “Blizzard Warning”, because it just has a wintery blizzard sort of look. White standards sit atop white falls that are veined then washed bluish purple, with a light lavender edge. A very pretty color and pattern that certainly gets a lot of notice in the field. Sdlg. TN223C: This Is Crazy sibling X Just Between Us sibling

CALL TO ATTENTION (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
The nice contrasting of this bicolor definitely catches your attention. Medium lemon yellow standards are very clean and clear. Falls are a rich deep burgundy red with a narrow lemon rim. Beautiful, full, round, and ruffled form, with great clarity of color. Sdlg. TM113RR: Distant Shores X Painted Sky

CLOSING CEREMONY (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Midseason late-very late 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
The name kind of tells you the story. It starts flowering with the midseason varieties, and continues through until the very end of the iris bloom season. Very rich pink standards repeat themselves in a soft band on white falls. Big showy powder blue beards certainly add a touch of class. Very nice form with good bud count and stems. A true delight to look at, it is a favorite for sure! Sdlg. TO160A: Somebody To Love X TK109ZZ: (TG52CC: (Uptown Lady x Don’t Stop Believing) x Slice Of Heaven)

COMPLETE OPPOSITE (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
What can we say about this one? Contrast certainly comes to mind! Deep blue purple standards sit atop cinnamon brown falls. Tall stems with lightly ruffled flowers have carrying power out the kazoo! Holy cow, does this one make a statement. It is the iris that garden visitors most often tell me about; it seems to imprint! Certainly unique, and won’t be mistaken for anything else! Stems and branching are good. The flowers are not as wide and ruffled as I usually like, but are certainly adequate. Sdlg. TN13A: Mood Ring X unknown seedling

COSMETOLOGIST (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 35” (89cm) Sweet fragrance.
This is a plicata pattern that has a lot going on. Standards have a very light lavender ground, with lavender dotting showing in the center, and then becoming a medium lemon band. Falls are a light lavender white ground, with a deep burgundy haft bar, and a faint lilac lavender dotted edge. Even the beard is complex, with a white base and hair tips that change from burgundy to orange as it moves towards the heart of the flower. Cosmetologist comes from a line of plicatas that are not from traditional plicata breeding; they descend from recessive plicatas that appeared in bicolor breeding lines. Very nice form, bud count, and stems. Sdlg. TO237D: For The Ages X Open Flame plicata sibling

DANCE FESTIVAL (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason-late 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
Lines, lines, and more lines! I have been working with this pattern for a number of years and have gotten some very interesting things. If I were to choose just one word to describe this, it would be floriferous! It completely covers itself in tall, well branched and budded stems, and blooms for a long time. It is not the first to start blooming, but about midway through the early season it starts, and goes and goes. The picture kind of speaks for itself. Check out the additional pictures of it, including clump shots. Sdlg. TN171ZZ Open Heart X Leave Me Breathless

DATE NIGHT (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
A superb, perfectly applied pattern! Date Night is a pristine clean white with a very deliberate lilac band on the falls. The brilliant orange beard brings the whole package to life. So elegant, with fantastic form. A very cheerful iris in the garden, it is sure to make you smile. Sdlg. TO184M: Just Curious X TM52: (Casting Call x Bombshell)

DEEP APPRECIATION (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight musky fragrance.
Deep black cherry to black standards show a slight bit of yellow ground in the center. Falls have a white ground with a lemon-yellow wash that is dotted deep black cherry, with a dark bar around the beard and line below the beard. The fall then has a wide black cherry band. It differs from its sister ‘Love In The Dark’ in that Deep Appreciation is near black, whereas the former is a very deep oxblood red. Very stunning! Sdlg. TM149QQ: Love In The Dark sibling

DISCO PARTY (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight fragrance.
This beauty certainly reminds me of a wild disco party. Clean medium lemon-yellow standards are the perfect match for the wildly patterned falls. The large canary yellow sunburst center becomes a lavender to maroon wash that is then encircled with a lemon band. Nice, tall, well-branched stems carry the well-formed flowers with pride, screaming look at me! Sdlg. TM141B: Color Wheel X unknown

DONE DEAL (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 40” (101.5cm) Slight fragrance.
Done Deal is one of those iris that has it all: great form, branching, bud count, and vigor. Standards are a pearl white with pink and light salmon blended centers. Falls are a rich lavender with a deep red violet signal around the beard, which becomes a deeper lavender wash throughout the mid-section. We used this one quite a lot in hybridizing for all of its exemplary qualities. Sdlg. TN180ZZ: Are You Kidding Me sibling