ALL ABOUT COLOR (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
The warm yellow color of the standards calms the eye, while the violet and maroon blended and streaked falls banded with tan push toward party time. Strong growth creates clumps filled with eye-catching flowers. Weather resistant stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB103N: Y54E: (U14A: (Dog Days x R133A: (O159B: (Out Of The Dark x Sea Power) x P75B: (L83D, Magic Masquerade sib x Cheap Frills))) x W10A: (Dog Days x Hidden Innocence)) X Z139: (V89: (unknown x Hotsy Totsy) x Hotsy Totsy)

BOUNCING BLUE BETTY (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Slight spicy fragrance.
I’ll leave it to you to figure out which Betty and where the bounce is. Is it in her footsteps? She is elegantly appealing. Ruffled icy white standards echo the interesting white falls that are delicately washed pale blue to several shades darker toward their edges. Statuesque stalks can have 4 branches with 11-12 buds. Put some bounce in your garden.
Sdlg. CC76A: Z40B: (V67A: (R72A: (Fancy Dog x M80CC: (First Page x Man About Town)) x Blueberry Parfait) x V191D: (R174B: (Frontline x Bluebird Of Happiness) x Dancing Star)) X X1A: (Adriatic Waves x All Ashore)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME (Thomas Johnson ’26
) TB Early-midseason 38” (97cm)
Slight sweet fragrance The name was inspired by our young iris enthusiastic 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. Coming 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 bases, 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 sib.

CAN JUST IMAGINE (Thomas Johnson ’26)
TB Early-midseason 40” (102cm)
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 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” (97cm)
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 certainly adequate. Sdlg. TN13A: Mood Ring by unknown seedling

DANCE FESTIVAL (Thomas Johnson ’26) TB Early-midseason-late 38” (97cm) Slight fragrance Lines, lines and more lines, I have been working with this pattern for a number of years and we have gotten some very interesting things. If I was to choose 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 mid way through the early season it starts and goes and goes. The picture kind of speaks for itself. Checkout the website for additional pictures of it including clump shots. Sdlg. TN171ZZ. Open Heart X Leave Me Breathless

PROUNOUCEMENT (Paul Black 26) TB
Midseason-Late 30” (76cm)
Slight spicy fragrance Its bold colors pronounce to the world, “I’m here”! Clear mid yellow exuberantly ruffled standards are circled by creamy yellow margins. Strongly flared velvety mahogany falls are smoothly overlaid plum blending lighter to narrow old gold margins. Soft marigold beards don’t interfere with the ‘Pronouncement’. Two nicely spaced branches and spur produce 7-8 buds. Sdlg. EE55F: Black BB103A, All About Color sib X Enthusiastic

RIDING THE SURF (Paul Black 26)
TB Early-Midseason 40” (101.5cm)
No fragrance Clear skies above and pounding surf below, it’s time to break out the surfboard. Pristine white standards tower above white falls irregularly washed and blended mid to dark blue. Pale blue blended bands add some foam. Strong elegantly tall stalks have 4 branches and a branch spur giving 11-12 buds. Coming from a stable of robust parents gives it staying power in your garden. Sdlg. CC76B: Black Z40B:(Black V67A:(Black R72A:(Fancy Dog x Black M80CC:(Black J140B, First Page sib x Man About Town)) x Blueberry Parfait) x V191A:(Black R174B:(Frontline x Bluebird of Happiness) x Dancing Star)) X Black X1A:(Adriatic Waves x All Ashore)

SCATTERSHOT DOTS (Paul Black 26)
TB Midseason-Late 30” (76cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Here’s another in the limited realm of the strange broken color plicatas. Each flower is patterned differently. Typically marked standards have light buttercream ground with dark charcoal purple heavily plicata sanded center and dark charcoal purple rib and wide band. White falls have light yellow variably sized hafts and irregular broken color segments of wine to purple dotting and sanding and narrow dark wine plic band. Sdlg. EE25A: Black AA84W, Make Up Your Mind X Wild About You

SUMMER STROLL (Paul Black 26)
TB Midseason-Late 30” (76cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance The setting summer sun casts a warm glow as you stroll about. Light clear pink standards of this glaciata blend to wide light clear yellow bands. Ruffled white falls blend to light yellow margins. Mid tangerine beards rise from peachy orange hafts. Creates a very satisfying clump filled with show stalks. Stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 9-10 buds. So very pretty. Its later bloom assures it will escape late frosts/freezes that so many other glaciatas are prone to damage by. Sdlg. EE75D: BB149D, Wild About You sib X BB149B, Wild About You sib

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. Standards are pretty straight forward being a brilliant golden yellow. Falls are a bit more complex. There is a large and plush mahogany red 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 outs as a light lavender and lemon blend at the haft and about half way down transitions to lemon and finally deep gold at the distil end. The standard color reflecting itself at the distil 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 complete on the show bench as well. Shockingly bright and beautiful. Sdlg TN50ZZ: Autumn Tease sib X Truth Or Dare