MOMENT OF REFLECTION (T. Johnson ’24)
Midseason-late 38” (97cm)
Sweet fragrance. Ooh la la is what I say each year when this one starts to flower. Impeccable wide and ruffled form. Not really sure whether to call this a bicolor or a blend. Whatever it is, we like it very much, and we love to hybridize with it. Blended golden orange and salmon standards swirl elegantly above light rosy lavender falls with a peach wash, deeper at the hafts, and lighter as it moves down the petal. Oh, and did we mention it is ruffled? This was a very productive cross and has yielded many intros including last year’s Head Of The Class and Refined Elegance. Sdlg. TK131B: Sweet City Woman X Dressed To The Nines

NEAPOLITAN DELIGHT (T. Johnson ’24)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm)
Slight fragrance. Standards are a light creamy apricot with peach pink centers. Falls have a peach pink center that transitions into a random violet wash that becomes a solid edge. A very unusual color combination that is quite striking. Sdlg. TM136A, Attention Seeker sibling: Hard To Resist X Bombshell

PARADE OF STARS (T. Johnson ’24)
TB Midseason-late 38” (97cm)
Sweet fragrance. Blended gold and purple standards. Falls are a blended golden yellow with a large dark blue violet central wash. Wonderful round and ruffled form on show stems. A clump of Parade Of Stars is simply stunning and is how it got its name. Sdlg. TM32A: Madly In Love X (Raging Tide x Puzzled)

TAKE MY HAND (T. Johnson ’24)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm)
Light fragrance. Icy white standards are flushed and veined pink in the center. Falls are orange with an overall wash of salmon-rose and slightly deeper veins. Nicely formed and branched stems move us another step forward in this color pattern. Sdlg. TL219ZZ, Power And Prestige sibling: (Barbara Rider x Arrivederci) X Shockaholic

ENTHUSIASTIC (Black ’24)
TB Early-midseason 30” (76cm)
Sweet fragrance. Larger flowers have loads of color and carrying power. Expansive wide falls boost its garden presence. Mango to orange standards rise above falls that are light buff around the beard, with a red-plum haft and wash that transitions to a solid wide mango band. A very unique and colorful variety that will certainly brighten your garden. Exciting! Sdlg. AA274A: Black X89B, Paisley Print sib X Hey Look Me Over

DELICIOSO (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 35” (89cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Warm peach pink standards have pink centers. Falls are pink with a violet wash and wide pink band. Delicioso is an early season delight. A real bright spot with nice stems and buds, it is a favorite that we look forward to seeing each year.
Sdlg. TM87YY: TJ159C, Wrap Her Up sib: (TF94C: (Poster Girl x Cameo Minx) x Highly Classified) X Bombshell

FALCON HEART (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Standards are light yellow with medium lemon yellow centers. Falls have a very deep maroon central spot that becomes a wash as it moves toward the edge. There is then a light violet blushed area before becoming a clear light yellow band. A very clean and dramatic pattern and another step in the ‘pansy face’ pattern.
Sdlg. TN50D: TH68C, Autumn Tease sib: (Seasons In The Sun x Risk Taker) X Truth Or Dare

LOVE IN THE DARK (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 38” (96.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Quite an intensely colored iris. Standards are solid deep oxblood red. Falls are cream with a lemon wash on either side of the beard extending down to the wide red dotted band. Very showy in the fields this last year, making quite a statement at the end of its row.
Sdlg. TM149WW: Raspberry Pie X Flash Mob

MAGIC STITCH (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm) Sweet fragrance.
Standards have a cream base that is heavily overlaid with violet dotting in the center, extending out to form a lavender pink band. Falls are white with a slight lemon wash and a very precise deep violet stitched and dotted band. Magic Stitch is an absolutely incredible grower that covers itself in show stems. Flowers are very well-formed and held on strong stems. A super garden performer!!
Sdlg. TM134VV: Flash Mob X TK161A: (TG396A: (Fashion Diva x unknown) x Beautician)

SHEMOZZLE (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91.5cm) Sweet fragrance.
Lemon yellow standards rise above very complex patterned falls. There is a yellow flash around the beard, then a reddish band at the haft that becomes a blue violet wash. The pattern then transitions to a lavender band, and finally a lemon band. Quite a busy little thing, but also very showy. Gorgeous ruffled form and nice stems are the norm.
Sdlg. TN231C: Coat Of Many Colors X Honor Roll

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

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