BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES (P. Black 21)
AB (OGB) Midseason 24” (61cm)
Classic aril traits and relatively easy culture make this a prime selection for those wanting to give their first arilbred a try. Near white standards are finally netted mid lilac. Dusky mid rose falls have huge dark red brown aril signals and characteristic sparse diffuse beards. Usually one branch and 3 buds.
Sdlg. Byzantine Ruby X V351A: (Brash and Bold x S142BR, Triple Dip sib).

CAT'S EYE (P. Black '02)
SDB Mid season 15" (38 cm)
Mauve rose w/ big, vibrant red F spot; TOTALLY UNIQUE! Winner of Walther Cup, Lankow Medal, Cook Douglas Medal and runner up for Dykes Medal. EXTREMELY POPULAR.

DO THE FANDANGO (T. Johnson ’21)
TB Mid-Late 32” (81cm)
Deep grape purple standards. Falls are grape purple with deep purple black lines and a wide grape purple band. Deep brown and grape purple blended beards. Nicely ruffled flowers on good stems. A truly unique creation with a very clean and mysterious look. I love it, and hope you will too.
Sdlg: TJ156A: Cherry Parfait X Sib to All Things Considered and Those Violet Eyes.

DOTTING EVERY EYE (Paul Black '22)
AB (OGB-) Midseason-Late 22” (56cm)
No fragrance This is one of the rare instances of an arilbred-median producing a single viable seed. Better yet, the pollen parent is a reblooming TB. Yellow styles peer from inside globular white standards. Cinnamon lines and dots cover yellow falls and finished with a darker cinnamon signal. Two branches and 4-5 buds. Limited fertility.
Sdlg. V351A: Brash and Bold X Black S142BR, Triple Dip sib

RED EYE FLIGHT (Paul Black '22)
AB (OGB-) Midseason-Late 22” (56cm)
No fragrance. Standards are mid red-violet with random garnet patches particularly on outer third. Mid garnet washed over terracotta bases have large dark red-brown signals surrounding dark brown beards. Makes bright and cheery clumps.
Sdlg. AA146C, Lucky Roll sib

WHAT A LOOKER (P. Black '22)
TB Midseason-Late 33” (84cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance. Pink, pink and nothing but pink including the beards. The pink pigment is overlaid on a warm white ground that prevents contamination from any other color. The pink beards approaching red will make anyone stop and turn with admiring glances. It is a garden favorite that catches most everyone’s eyes. Eight to nine more simply formed flowers are presented on three perfectly spaced branches. Robust blue-green foliage is a big plus for pink TBs that can have less than stellar foliage.
Sdlg. Z14A: Strawberry Shake X Black V186A: involved

APPLE OF MY EYE (Paul Black 23)
TB Late-Very Late 35” (89cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Oh YES, I really like this one. Be sure to take in the lovely, nuanced colors. Tight classically formed flowers have waxen substance and sheen. Lightly laced red brown standards blend to wide dark mulberry bands, a very interesting color transition. Narrow crinkle laced black cherry falls are touched with white dotting. The white chevron around the multi-layered beard is heavily mottled mid black cherry. Three layered beards are white to dark purple and tipped old gold. Strong, disease resistant foliage. Show branched stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 9- 10 buds. Sdlg. AA268A: Ruby Tracery X Black Y54A, Drag Race sib

MAKE ME WANNA SHOUT (Paul Black 23)
TB Early-Midseason 29” (74cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Oh yes, that big billowy ruffled form is something to shout about. Mid red violet standards have ruffled light buff bands and subtle gray-white veins shot outward from their centers. Styles are light buff. Mid dark red violet blended falls have muted fine gray-white lines overall, narrow gray-white bands and white luminata patch. Beards progress from mid marigold ending in white. Blue-green foliage has limited purple base. Mid slate purple stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 8-10 buds. Lovely clumps. Sdlg. Z2C, Feast for the Eyes sib

HYBRIDIZERS TAKE NOTE
FUTURISTIC (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 12” (30cm)
Slight sweet fragrance As far as I know, this is the first variegated foliage SDB to be introduced. I’ve bloomed others but none good enough to introduce. ‘Futuristic’ had an interesting beginning. Bloom the first year was a mix of gray-white flowers, grayed pink flowers and some broken colored of gray and pink. Since then, most have transitioned to light gray with a light tan haft veined darker slate tan and narrowly bordered slate violet. There are very subtle light tan broken color segments. Mid old gold beards give a little life to these more somber colors. ‘Futuristic’ is fertile and can produce variegated foliage and broken color flowers but progress is slow. Sdlg. Y262A: Black V277B: (Black S283B: (Black O335B, Burlesque Cutie pod parent x Worry Wart) x Eye of the Tiger) X Black V324A, Egghead sib

ZAA ZAA ZING (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early-Midseason 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Some seedlings are destined for introduction from the moment they open. This is one. It remains a favorite. White standards have light yellow centers changing to veining moving outward. Mid yellow styles echo the standards. Upper two-thirds of white falls are covered with heavy closely spaced dark red-brown veins and mottling. A white stripe bisects them. Neat half and half beards are mid gold ending in white. Makes a stunning and memorable clump you won’t forget. Sdlg. BB199A: (Open Your Eyes X Cheery Blush)

PLOT TWIST (T. Johnson ’24)
TB Early-midseason 38” (97cm)
Light fragrance. Salmon pink standards. Falls are a medium blue purple with a wide deep red violet lined bar completely covering the haft and extending out the length of the beard. Your eyes will immediately be drawn to the very large and showy red beards. A very distinctive and fun iris for sure, with excellent growth and well branched show stems. Sdlg. TL184C, Out Of Character sibling: What A Circus X ((Tango Express sib x Danger Money) x Hooked On A Feeling)

BEARDCENTRIC (T. Johnson ’25)
SDB Early-midseason 13” (33cm) Sweet fragrance.
Salmon pink with falls covered in deeper salmon dotting and a lighter rim. Large burnt orange beards catch your attention. Lovely ruffled blooms.
Sdlg. TO87C: TK282G: (Stylish Miss x Alaia) X Catch My Eye

HIGH WIRE ACT (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 35” (89cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
High Wire Act is such a beautiful iris, especially in a clump where it really shines, showing off its beautiful gold rim. Standards are cream with very faint gold veining in the center and a violet line up the midrib. The wide ruffled gold band really catches the eye. Falls are white, with a very wide rust red dotted band and white wire rim. A violet line down the center of the petal, from below the beard to the petal’s edge, adds another dimension of intrigue.
Sdlg. TM22WW: All The Rage X TJ249C, Flirty Tease sib: (TG400A: (Blyth T179-2: (Champagne Journey x Mysterioso) x unknown) x Dressed To The Nines)

KEEP AN EYE OUT (T. Johnson ’25)
AB (OGB-) Early-midseason 26” (66cm) Slight fragrance.
A lovely clear blue with a deep red black signal. Certainly a catchy looking iris in the garden, and a strong grower.
Sdlg. TO4B: Lancer X TL319E, You’ve Got This sib: (TI295A: (Antsy sib x Yodel sib) x Prego)

STARE INTO MY EYES (P. Black '25)
AB (OGB-) Late-very late 23” (58.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Stare Into My Eyes makes a significant advancement in the buds and branching of quarter arilbred irises. It is a big favorite. Strong stalks have two well-spaced branches plus spur and 7-8 buds. It is vigorous and as easy to grow as other bearded irises. White standards have light yellow centers blended to wide white bands shot with light yellow veins. Falls have big purple signals irregularly blended into wide light amethyst bands. Because of its later bloom, you’ll be able to take it to a show.
Sdlg. CC140A: Heart Of Hearts X Casual Attire

PEACH BERRY JUMBLE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) No fragrance.
The time of broken colored irises with poor form, stalks, buds, and growth is past. Now is the time to put this colorful beauty in your garden. Standards have mid to dark mulberry segments and streaks, and mid to light peach segments and streaks. Falls have a mid peach ground, white around the beards, and mid to dark mulberry segments, streaks, sanding, and dotting. WOW! What a wild and crazy flower. Vigorous growth produces show stalks with three branches and 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB117N: Y87A: (V24C, Cockeyed Optimist sib x W144C: (T46C: (Claim To Fame x Advantage) x T52CR: (N134AAR: (Island Coral x K113A: (Throb x I4B: (Blazing Sunrise x C17D, Vibrant sib))) x Advantage))) X Y115B, Breaking Free sib

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

TWINKLING EYES (Paul Black 26)
SDB Midseason-late 11” (28cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
This sibling of ‘Dark Eyed Lass’ is similar, but adds warming light gold hafts and indigo shadings around the big near-black spots on widely banded white falls. White standards dance above its dramatically colored falls. Big fluffy yellow to white bi-color beards are a joyful accent. Sdlg. DD163B: BB248B, Touch Of Turquoise sibling X Zaa Zaa Zing

SING SOFTLY (Thomas Johnson ’26)
SDB Midseason-late 13” (33cm) Sweet fragrance.
Light pink standards rise above white falls with a heavy stitched and dotted red violet haft and wide dotted edge. Coral orange beards draw you in. A very distinctive and different plicata. Sdlg. TP289A: Catch My Eye X Tula

PUZZLE PIECE (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason-late 37” (94cm) Slight fragrance.
Iris have become such complex beings when it comes to patterns and application of color. The standards are pretty straight forward, being a brilliant golden yellow, but the falls are a bit more complex. There is a large and plush mahogany red signal spot in the center, but things get complicated in the band. There is a large wide band that circles the signal, but instead of it being one consistent color, it starts out as a light lavender and lemon blend at the haft, about half way down transitions to lemon, and finally shows deep gold at the distal end. The standard color reflecting itself at the distal end of the fall draws the eye across the whole flower and creates a very pleasing presentation. Tall, well branched and budded stems help it to compete on the show bench as well. Shockingly bright and beautiful. Sdlg. TN50ZZ: Autumn Tease sibling X Truth Or Dare