BUTTERFLY EYE (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 33” (84cm) Pronounced spicy fragrance.
Butterfly Eye is an example of the recently emerging cascade patterns where the fall centers have various contrasting colors, from veins to solid cascades. Light slate violet standards blend to a wide pale violet-white band. Wide pale violet-blue falls help emphasize the cascade patterning. Large dark indigo blue hafts transition to widely spaced dark indigo veins and mottling. Fat beards are an interesting tobacco brown. Strong growth produces show stalks.
Sdlg. DD56A: AA8A: (Foreign Agent x Bedroom Romance) X Y18A: (Multnomah Falls x Bubbly Beauty)

PLICATA PORTRAIT (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 34” (86.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
She is all dressed up for her picture perfect moment. White ground standards have wide solid dark maroon bands and heavy overall plicata sanded centers. Interiors of the standards have white ground with plicata marks similar to falls. Broad white falls have mid red-violet sanding within wide dark maroon plicata bands. Widely spaced dark maroon lines traverse the centers. Three branches have 8-9 buds. Strong growth.
Sdlg. BB106O: Crocodile Smile X Z100D, Background Noise sib

COME FLY WITH ME (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 34” (86.5cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Standards are mid blue veined darker blue. Here is where it gets interesting to describe. Falls are the same as standards except a bit grayed, but with contrasting rich walnut brown hafts. Gilt gold rims widen to narrow light gray bands. Its uniqueness draws one back again and again for a closer look. It is a strong grower, with 2 branches plus spur and 6-7 buds.
Sdlg. BB112N: Y69B: (Jungle Mist x W2A: (Beauty Becomes Her x U1B, Luxuriant sib)) X X135A: (U50A: (After The Rain x S110D: (Blue Trill x N193A, Blue Trill sib)) x U59A: (After The Rain x Black Is Black))

GLOWING MAGIC (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 29” (73.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
This luscious glaciata is a blended medley of mid pink to peach with mid apricot hafts and bands. Glaciatas are prone to virus. So far this lovely creation has remained virus free. Strong growth produces stalks with 3 branches and 7-8 buds. An excellent parent for all types of plicatas. One of my favorite irises, with an added bonus of medians in its background.
Sdlg. CC67E: Y152B, Fantasmagorical sib X Fantasmagorical

ON SILKEN WINGS (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 32” (81.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
More moderately sized flowers are presented in abundance on stalks having three branches plus spur, and spur on the lower branch, with 9-12 buds. Standards are light green-ecru as are narrow bands on pale slate blue falls. It is a lovely complement to more busily patterned flowers.
Sdlg. CC179A: Pleasure's All Mine X Z25D: (Lightly Buttered x U38C, Jungle Mist sib)

DOUBLE DEALING (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 30” (76cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Breeding for broken color irises is difficult, and even more so for variegated foliage. The presence of both in the same iris is still a rare achievement. Double Dealing meets the challenge. Variegated foliage has segments that are blue-green, grass green and white. Broken color flowers have standards of light tan-yellow with mid rosy mauve broken color segments. Falls are mid tan-gold with mid maroon sanding and dark maroon broken color segments, streaks, and splashes. Stalks have 2 branches plus spur and 8 buds.
Sdlg. BB117A: 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

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

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91cm) Sweet fragrance.
Standards have centers that are a deep purple graduating deeper towards the heart of the flower. A wide buff yellow band with subtle deeper gold veins rim the standards. White falls have wide, overlapping form, with a deep golden yellow band. A stunning reverse bicolor with large, wide, and ruffled flowers. Sdlg. TN27C: Mood Ring X Easy On The Eyes

AT FIRST LIGHT (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91cm) Sweet fragrance.
Sky blue standards have a deep reddish violet central wash. Falls are creamy white with slightly gold-touched hafts and a wide gold band. Well formed, ruffled, budded, and branched, At First Light comes from a very good cross that produced many introduction-worthy children. Sdlg. TN27EE: Artificial Intelligence sibling

BAKER’S SECRET (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91cm) Sweet fragrance.
Standards have an interesting blend of yellow and violet that creates a very rich brownish confection. The color reminds me of a dark cinnamon bun dripping with sweet frosting. Falls are white with the faintest of lavender overlaid, then edged with a deep golden yellow haft and band. Baker’s Secret is absolutely amazing in a clump!! Sdlg. TN27QQ: Artificial Intelligence 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

BALLROOM GOWN (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 39” (99cm) Sweet fragrance.
It is difficult to find the words to describe this one; the picture kind of says it all. Incredible form and with heavy substance, this stately luminata is characterized with a very wide rim on the standards. Intensely ruffled falls have a huge showy central luminata patch. At 39 inches, it is very tall for this pattern, which has tended to be on the shorter side. Show stems that can carry up to three branches, and spurs even on the branches, provide lots of buds for an extended bloom season. We have used this one heavily in our hybridizing program, putting it right at the top of our favorites list. Sdlg. TN21XX: Affair to Remember X Gone Viral

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

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

CAN JUST IMAGINE (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 40” (101.5cm) Sweet fragrance.
Lavender blue standards; falls are lavender blue with a deeper violet blue brindled wash. Beards are burnt orange with lavender tips. Can Just Imagine is very tall and stately, with beautiful show stems. It is a ‘fancy’, which in hybridizing talk means it is about one generation away from being a luminata. A unique and striking feature is its beautiful lavender spathes and stems. It is very hard to photograph but is very noticeable in the garden. We have used this one quite a lot in hybridizing. A very pretty quality iris, and the product of two great parents. Sdlg. TN90ZZ: Beautician X Gone Viral

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

WOVEN TAPESTRY (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm) Sweet fragrance.
Standards are the faintest of oyster blue with violet and pink washed centers. Falls are rich mauve, with a deep reddish purple washed central fall spot. Beards are burnt orange. We just love the colors of this iris, and it is illustrated so well, in a dramatic pattern. Nice stems with plenty of buds. Sdlg. TO238A: For The Ages X Suspicious Minds

COSMIC (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 33” (84cm) Sweet fragrance.
Some iris have such a complex coloration that it is hard to describe. To make matters more difficult, the shade of purple in Cosmic can be different from day to day, and from year to year. We struggled to figure out which picture to use for the catalogue, and have included several shots on the website for you to see for yourself. No matter what the shade, Cosmic is a blooming fool, absolutely covering itself in bloom, and is intensely bright, with its very wide gold band in the standards, and yellow flash overlaying the white luminata patch on the falls. Sdlg. TO148A: Gone Viral X unknown