MAGIC IS HAPPENING (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 35” (89cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
The bubbly personality of Magic is Happening is like a fine bottle of champagne. Its presence just makes you happy. It has a great combination of light blue on white plicata standards and narrow red-violet plicata banded falls. Falls are expansive, nicely flared, and have a perfect amount of ruffling. You need some time to take in this exceptional creation. Three well-spaced branches have 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. AA88D: Cloud Gate X Black Y140A: (Awash In Purple x All Too Exciting)

BOX OF SUNSHINE (P. Black '25)
TB Late-very late 35” (89cm) Slight spicy fragrance.
Box of Sunshine stood head and shoulders above its siblings of diverse blacks, purples, bitones, caramel blends, and even a plicata. Large, heavily ruffled flowers have standards of palest olive white blended to wide mid yellow bands. Strongly flared falls of milk glass white are decorated with mid yellow hafts and band. Its 3 branches carry 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB102E: Y54A, Drag Race sib X Black Z112C: (V159J, Pleasure’s All Mine sib x X34C, Black Hole sib)

MEGASTAR (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 35” (89cm) No fragrance.
This was my favorite seedling out of all of the BB year seedlings. I returned repeatedly to have another look. There is such an overwhelming amount of color and patterning that one viewing isn’t enough to take it in. It is another Crocodile Smile child, which shows its importance as a parent. Warm white standards have a wide light violet plicata outer band and a wide light khaki tan sanded and lined plicata band. Style arms are contrasting dark gold. White falls have wide dark violet to dark plum lined and sanded plicata bands. Rich brown beards are the perfect accent. Three branches produce 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB105P: Crocodile Smile X Z62C: (All Too Exciting x U53X, Rise Like A Phoenix 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))

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

CALYPSO JOE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) No fragrance.
Imagine loads of sun, sandy beaches, and music with a Latin beat when Calypso Joe appears in his flamboyant attire. The light butter ground of the standards is widely banded dark wine with random plicata marks over their centers. Bright mid yellow falls have dark wine hafts extending beyond the root beer beard and ending in an irregular dart. The plicata markings are wide in upper 1/3 then becoming narrow. Robust growth produces strong stalks with 3 branches and 9-10 buds. Quite a showstopper.
Sdlg. CC68A: Fantasmagorical X Z70H, Capture A Little Sun sib

CINNAMON SURPRISE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) No fragrance.
This sibling to Calypso Joe is considerably more sedate. Mid-light yellow centers of the standards blend to mid Dijon gold. Mid-light yellow falls have light cinnamon plicata hafts, becoming narrower and lighter at the distal end. Vigorous growth and show stalks make it a desirable addition to your garden.
Sdlg. CC68C: Fantasmagorical X Z70H, Capture A Little Sun sib

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)

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

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

BURNING FLAME (Thomas Johnson ’26)
SDB Early-midseason 12” (30.5cm) Sweet fragrance.
These smaller, more tailored flowers create a wallop of a punch in the color department! That BEARD!! Sdlg. TP254B: Forever Aglow X TL282B: (Kay x Roaring Fire)

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

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

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)