RARE GEM (T. Johnson ’25)
TB Early-midseason 36” (91.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Mauve pink standards rise above mauve and lavender pink blended falls with lighter centers. There is texture veining that juts out from around the deep lavender purple beard. Gorgeous ruffled and wide form showcases the pattern. Nice stems and buds as well. Quite a striking iris.
Sdlg. TJ149ZZ: TF6E: (Secret Affair x Haunted Heart) X TD70C, Poem Of Love sib: (Fine Romance x Rite Of Passage)

TIME BOMB (L. Miller ’25)
TB Early-midseason 37” (94cm) No fragrance.
Peach pink standards rise above white ground falls blushed light yellow in the center, transitioning to red-violet dotting. Finally we finish with a wide dark red-violet band! Quite a striking bicolor plicata, with good garden presence and up to 11 buds!
Sdlg. 918D: Scattergram X She’s A Bimbo

DESERT OASIS (P. Black '25)
AB (OGB-) Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight musky fragrance.
Quarter arilbreds keep getting better and better, and more aril looking, with the big plus that they are easy to grow. Awesome white standards have light yellow centers and lined filigree with mid yellow styles peeking out. The light-yellow base of falls are washed and blended mid rose. Dark black-cherry streaked chevron signals surround brassy old gold beards.
Sdlg. CC142A: Smokin' Hot X Rise Like A Phoenix

MAID OF GOLD (P. Black '25)
MTB Early-midseason 23” (58.5cm) Slight spicy fragrance.
Nothing but lilting bright mid yellow flowers and beards. Clumps are filled with stalks and myriads of flowers making for a superb landscape iris. Well-branched stalks have two branches plus spur and 7-8 buds.
Sdlg. CC160E: Bright Victory X Dream Of Dreams

TWIZZLER (P. Black '25)
MDB Early-midseason 7” (18cm) No fragrance.
This small guy has caramel tan standards with interior mid slate wine plicata markings. Very round falls have light caramel tan ground with dark slate wine lines, plicata dotting, and dappling. Mid-dark tangerine beards glow from the heart.
Sdlg. CC230B: Z183D: (Galaxy Quest x unknown) X Z187C: (V218C: (Pinky Ring x Skimbleshanks) x Jolly)

BERRY GOOD (P. Black '25)
SDB Late-very late 14” (35.5cm) No fragrance.
So yummy! Striking color. Light mauve pink standards top dark maroon falls with mid purple bands.
Sdlg. CC265C: AA240B, Child sib X AA184A: (Breathtaking x Y278A Debonair Bear sib)

DARK EYED LASS (P. Black '25)
SDB Early-midseason 10” (25.5cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Here it is, the one many of you have been asking about since I first posted its picture on FB. I’m also in love with it. It is one of those irises where everything works together to make a stunning creation. Light yellow standard centers blend to wide stark white bands. Irregularly edged big brown-black fall spots transition to wide white bands, including a white dart up their distal center. A nest of white darts encircles white beards. OH MY!
Sdlg. DD163A: BB248A, Touch Of Turquoise sib X Zaa Zaa Zing

PLAY WITH ZEBRAS (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Pronounced musky fragrance.
Talk about a zebra of a different stripe. This is one of the few broken color plicatas, and one with sterling plant habits and superbly formed flowers. White standards have a wide dark purple plicata band and closely spaced dotting over the center. Wide and ruffled falls are white with dark purple broken color segments, streaks, dotting, and sanding. Show stalks have three branches and 7-8 buds. I’m working on zebras in other colors now. What a fun project this is!
Sdlg. AA84N: Come And Dance X Starry Starry Night

BOOM BOX (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 35” (89cm) Slight musky fragrance.
Oh yes, we’re a little loud and obnoxious, but also brilliantly colorful. Clear mid yellow standards are a clean contrast to falls that are dark black cherry streaking into rose tinted white bands. It certainly won’t be confused for another. White beards tipped light yellow are a perfect accent. Taller stalks have 3 branches with 9 buds.
Sdlg. BB28P: Read Between The Lines X Z139: (V89: (unknown x Hotsy Totsy) x Hotsy Totsy)

LATE TO THE PARTY (P. Black '25)
TB Late-very late 35” (89cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
For those in colder climates and areas subject to late frosts and freezes, a plicata being Late To The Party is a good thing. White standards have wide mid-dark purple plicata banding and sparse dotting over the center. The white of the standards accents the dark purple style arms. White falls have dark plum plicata hafts and narrow light plum plicata bands. The large mid marigold beards are an interesting accent. Overall, a very clean and exciting flower. The ground color and plicata markings are somewhat variable. Two branches plus spur carry 7-8 buds.
Sdlg. BB100C: Black Y53A, Sun Peeking Out sib X Black Z64A, Random Acts Of Kindness sib

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

DEVIL IN DISGUISE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
The disguise is a brilliant success. Who’d expect anything evil about this lavish blending of dark to mid purples adorned with an angelic near white beard. Super wide falls with lightly ruffled edges allow an unobstructed display of its alluring color. Minimal plicata marking of the standards at the midrib hint at its plicata heritage. Three well-spaced branches carry 9-10 buds.
Sdlg. DD62A: AA78B, Misplaced Dots sib X Awash In Purple

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