SWEET VERSE (T. Johnson ’23)
SDB Midseason 13” (33cm)
Light sweet fragrance. Essentially Sweet Verse is a pink plicata, showing more lilac at times. The beards are a lovely shrimp color which makes for a striking combination. Super grower with great form, bloom habits, and 4 buds per stalk. Sdlg. TM180A: Sweet Tweet X Tasty Treat

YOU'VE GOT THIS (T. Johnson ’23)
SDB Early 11” (28cm)
Sweet fragrance. Lavender blue with a large black cherry fall spot combined with large white beards. Quite a dramatic showoff and a favorite since its maiden bloom. Sdlg. TL319B: (TI295A x (Thump x Lab) x (Oh Canada x Parade Lap)) X Prego.

BREAK THE RULES (Paul Black 23)
TB Early-Midseason 34” (86cm)
Pronounced musky fragrance Marrying an IB and TB, both having exceptional branching and buds, created this wildly floriferous smaller flowered garden standout. Standards of white blossoms are widely plic marked violet blue with similar narrower band around falls. Mid gold beards are a subtle accent. Show stalks have 4 branches and rebranch creating 12-15 buds. It creates an unmistakable garden presence. Can be used to breed TBs, BBs, tet MTBs, IBs and even SDBs. Sdlg. BB169B: Silver Ice X Cat Tales

BACON AND EGGS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 13” (33cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Sunnyside up light yellow standards sit atop mid red-brown bacon falls with a little egg at hafts and around them. Clumps are filled with stalks and plenty of increase left for next year. Sdlg. BB195C: Before the Dawn X Mesa Sunrise

BOOM (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance It is spring’s explosion of color. Light peach standards are a soft foil for the raucous mid plum falls widely banded light rosy mauve. Bright dark orange beards go “Boom”! Clumps are filled with stalks. Robust growth. Sdlg. BB227A: Hey Look At Me X Yoda

CINEMAGIC (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early 13” (33Ccm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Mid gold standards and styles glow above wide mid ruby falls blended lighter toward edges. Light violet beards tipped black-brown terminate in wide black cherry center stripes. Nice breeding for broken color SDBs. Sdlg. BB246D: Black Y278B: (Black V316F, Circus Act sib x Don’t Fix It) X Yoda

CLEAR VIEW (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 13” (33cm)
No fragrance Chalky pale lilac standards have wide light mauve finely lined bands. Dark red purple falls have white veins over hafts and short light violet dart at end of light orange to white beards. Very pretty ruffled form. Sdlg. BB245B: Black Y270A: (involved) X By the Sea

DEMURE PRINCESS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early-Midseason 13” (33cm)
Pronounced spicy fragrance Absolutely beautiful in every way – form, color and plants. Round and gently ruffled falls of mid violet blue flowers have large darker violet blue spots with white darts over hafts. Soft pale blue beards are the perfect accent. Evenly distributed stalks throughout the clump. Sdlg. BB199F: Zaa Zaa Zing sib

DIFFERENT PATH (Paul Black 23)
BB Early-Midseason 26” (66cm)
Slight sweet fragrance In addition to using the species I. junonia in my SDB breeding, I’ve also used it in TB breeding to bring new genes into plicatas. In only two generations, form is modern and show stalks have been the norm. Gently ruffled standards are mid tan-gold rouged light rose over centers. White blended to butter ground falls have rosy plum plic hafts and 1” bands. Mid-marigold beards echo the standards. Easy growth produces quick clumps filled with stalks having 4 branches and 8-9 buds. Sdlg. Z149A: Black X220A: (Barbara May x I. junonia) X House of Cards

DREAM OF DREAMS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance This little jewel represents one more refinement in a many generations quest for late blooming, multi-budded and branched stalks with shorter foliage so all flowers can be seen. I place it close to the top of my breeding accomplishments. Clear mid yellow flowers are born on 2 branches plus spur and 7-8 buds. That sort of stalk and buds would make even a TB proud. Stalks are mid slate purple. Now the challenge is to add more colors and patterns. Imagine the breeding potential represented here. An easy candidate for “Queen of Show”. Sdlg. AA157A: Continuation X Black Y191A, Perfectly Composed sib

FEELING PRETTY (Paul Black 23)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced spicy fragrance These clear, soft pastel colors will provide a calming presence for your garden. The light peach to greenish cream glaciata flowers are a perfect foil for taller, more colorful companions. Flowers are a bit larger than usual for the class. Can be used to breed quality plicatas, luminatas and more glaciatas. Sdlg. Z178A: Black V296B, Cool Dude sib X House of Cards

HYBRIDIZERS TAKE NOTE
FUTURISTIC (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 12” (30cm)
Slight sweet fragrance As far as I know, this is the first variegated foliage SDB to be introduced. I’ve bloomed others but none good enough to introduce. ‘Futuristic’ had an interesting beginning. Bloom the first year was a mix of gray-white flowers, grayed pink flowers and some broken colored of gray and pink. Since then, most have transitioned to light gray with a light tan haft veined darker slate tan and narrowly bordered slate violet. There are very subtle light tan broken color segments. Mid old gold beards give a little life to these more somber colors. ‘Futuristic’ is fertile and can produce variegated foliage and broken color flowers but progress is slow. Sdlg. Y262A: Black V277B: (Black S283B: (Black O335B, Burlesque Cutie pod parent x Worry Wart) x Eye of the Tiger) X Black V324A, Egghead sib

IT'S A SNAP (Paul Black 23)
MDB Early-Midseason 7” (18cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance. What a welcome sight these cute little flowers are as spring begins to ramp up. Vigorous clumps cover themselves in masses of bloom. Mid-light brassy gold standards color repeats in wire rims around dark mahogany blended falls. Sdlg. BB195B, Bacon and Eggs sib

MINI STRIPE (Paul Black 23)
MDB Midseason 7” (18cm)
No fragrance ‘Mini Stripe’ is an eye-catching sport of a quite average purple seedling. Both standards and falls of silvery translucent white flowers have mid to dark violet lines etched overall and becoming a closer stitched fall band. White styles with violet lined crests nestle between upright standards. Sdlg. Y269N: involved

NEON FLASH (Paul Black 23)
MDB Midseason-Late 7.5” (19cm)
No fragrance The blazingly bright colors of ‘Neon Flash’ scream for attention. Mid-dark pink standards surround darker pink styles. Mid peach-pink falls are rouged rose at ends of clear pink beards. Cute little thumbnail sized blooms. Sdlg. BB226A: Hey Look at Me X Sweet Pink

PROCEEDING FORWARD (Paul Black 23)
Spec-X Midseason-Late 12” (30cm)
Slight sweet fragrance Work to further exploit the superb traits of I. junonia continue with this cross to incorporate pink color into the mix. This is a breeders iris more than a polished modern SDB. Mid slate garnet flowers have rusty orange hafts with white veins. Two branches and 4 buds is normal. Sdlg. BB208A: Weird Science X Sweet Pink

PULSATING (Paul Black 23)
MDB Midseason-Late 7.5” (19cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance It is all about color for this little guy. Vivid mid yellow standards and styles beam above light buff falls with hafts heavily plic lined and sanded mid wine as well as narrow plic bands and darts at ends of bright orange beards. You can’t miss it in the forward border. Sdlg. AA264B: Black X332C, Jolly sib X Jolly

RAGTOP (Paul Black 23)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance For breeders, here’s a lovely twofer for you, luminata and plicata on one side and lace of the other. It makes for an exciting parent. Ruffled and lightly laced khaki standards have slate red violet bases. Light khaki style crests are laced. Mid yellow hafts are veined mid mahogany and darker mahogany over lower half. A neat narrow ruffled and laced light khaki band encircles them. Soft old gold beards are the perfect complement. Sdlg. AA259D: Jolly X Little Bit of Lace

RED HOT BLUES (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early 12” (30cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance The layers of color in the falls is entrancing. Standards and styles are mid gold. Black cherry hafts of falls blend to mid rose and then are banded bronzy brown. Half burnt orange and mid lavender beards end with a darker violet flash at their end. Sdlg. BB246A: Black Y278B: (Black V316F, Circus Act x Don’t Fix It) X Yoda

ROBUST CLARET (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early-Midseason 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance The accent here is on robust. Single plants rapidly transform into big clumps that cover with bloom. Glistening mid ruby standards dance above velvety dark ruby falls with a network of fine black lines overall. Beards are neat half auburn and half mid violet. You’ll have plenty to give your neighbors. Sdlg. BB246E, Cinemagic sib