CATCH MY BREATH (T.Johnson ‘15)
TB Late 34” (86cm)
This magnificently formed confection will take your breath away. Heavily ruffled and laced standards are toasted watermelon flushed dark violet up midribs. Expansive falls are palest pink blended darker toward laced edges and hafts. Pink texture veins are a lovely addition. Show stalks are the norm. Garden visitors give it five stars.
Sdlg. TC7A: In the Morning X Original Cast

CHERRIES AND CREAM (B. Blyth ‘20)
TB EML 34” (86cm)
Just lovely! The standards are cream with a yellow flush coming ¾ of the way up the mid ribs and the reverse of standards is just cream. Falls are plush burgundy with 3/16” well defined edge of soft lilac. Beards are bronze over purple giving a very dark effect. Very wide and ruffled and plenty of buds give a long bloom season.
Sdlg No. Y48-2 ((W53-1: (T57-1: (Keppel 05-114A: (01-99A: Mysterious Ways sib x (Shoop 91-26 x Lotus Land)) x Decadence) x (04-93F: Brilliant Idea sib)) x Hello Beautiful) X Valley of Dreams)

FLYING MONKEY (P. Black '21)
SDB Midseason-Late 12” (30cm)
What a sight this monkey is with a wonderful luminata pattern. Standards are cream heavily washed mid khaki as are the styles. Falls have huge neon marigold beards surrounded by clear mid yellow throat and hafts giving way to white surrounding their tips. The falls lower half is washed/sanded mid brown and narrowly banded tan gold. What a sight! Very showy clumps. Excellent parent.
Sdlg. Z190E: V230C: (R258A, April Fanfare sib x My Cher) X Jolly

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (T. Johnson ’20)
Midseason 13” (33cm)
Icy blue Standards. Falls blue white with deep mustard hafts that extend three quarters of the way down the petal. Beautiful powder blue beards complete the package. Three buds per stem on super floriferous showy clumps and a favorite.
Sdlg TJ30A FAB LIFE X TG331C:(TD226A:(WIT x TA128A:(TX100A:(FUSSPOT x TU323A:(STORMY CIRCLE x INVESTOR)) x BRIGHT NOTE)) X WORRY WART)

PORTLAND PINK (P. Black ‘15)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
It was tagged for introduction from its maiden bloom. Saying it is unique is a vast understatement. It is the best formed of all the pink SDBs. Color has great depth and richness. Its one flaw is some flowers have a 4th standard. It is a big advancement in my project to create SDBs that bloom into TB season. It begins bloom in early TB season. How cool to have a SDB for a TB timed show. The cross that created it, an IB X IB, shouldn’t have been fertile but it did have viable seed. Even more amazing, ‘Portland Pink’ is fertile. It can be picky about its partner but can have anywhere from a few to normal numbers of seed and they germinate. Shorty, the pod parent, is from a pink tetraploid MTB seedling X my SDB, ‘Juicy Tidbit’. The pollen parent is a multi-branched & budded IB from a small flowered TB, ‘Inspired’ sib X my SDB, ‘Love Spell’. Growth is strong and increase rapid. Although it is from 2 IBs, it has never exceeded SDB height. What about using it in hybridizing? Go on, have your way with it. It is fertile with SDBs, IBs, tet MTBs, BBs and TBs. I haven’t tried MDBs. Expect wide variation in flower and plant size of seedlings.
Cook-Douglas Medal 2021
Sdlg. T234A: Shorty X (Inspired sib x Love Spell)

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS (P. Black ‘19)
TB Midseason-Late 33” (84cm)
What a beauty she is as she takes flight. Standards of heavily ruffled blooms are shaded light pink and are edged with ivory lace. Wide falls are light buff peach with darker veins and ivory laced edges. Burnt orange beards are an interesting contrast. Strong show stalks have 3 branches and 7-8 buds.
Sdlg. X28B: Haunted Heart X U73C: (Photogenic x O210B, Always Lovely sib)

HONOR ROLL (Thomas Johnson ’22)
TB Midseason 36” (91cm)
Sweet fragrance. Honor Roll is the fourth sister in this cross to be introduced and it has been used heavily in my hybridizing program. Palest cream standards are veined and infused light lemon and deep gold at the base. Falls are a very deep plush burgundy with a wide light lavender band that blends into a light yellow edge. Heavily ruffled parts of the petal backs show and add to the effect with multiple layers of color. Nice stems with good branching and bud count make it a winner. A very beautiful iris and a favorite for sure. Check out all the pictures of Honor Roll as the flower ages through the days the yellow pigments become more creamy white. Gorgeous either way, we love this iris and we think you will too.
Sdlg TJ252YY: Sib to last year’s intros, Strike A Chord, Break My Heart and Read My Mind.

SPINE TINGLER (T. Johnson ’22)
TB Early 36” (91cm)
Sweet fragrance. Luminatas have always been a favorite of mine and I am super excited about Spine Tingler. The form is divine-very wide and ruffled flowers on show stems with high bud count. A clump of it approaches perfection. Inky purple standards with nice precise gold edging. Darker violet falls with nice creamy-white lumi patch that is touched gold with a short white dart below the orange beard. The very wide ruffled falls are edged in gold. Recommended for the lovers of this pattern.
Sdlg TK22YY: Dancing In The Dark X Belle Fille.

I’M IN LOVE (Paul Black '22)
SDB Midseason-Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance. Yes, it was love a first sight and that hasn’t changed in its subsequent years of evaluation. It is at the top of my favorite SDBs. Bright, cheery and personable are good descriptors for it. White styles peer from inside bright yellow standards veined and toned slate violet in upper third. Bright yellow luminata patches give way to white shoulders blending to light lilac washed falls veined overall dark lilac. Two toned orange and marigold beards add fiery passion. Variable color and markings. Fabulous parent.
Sdlg. AA219A: Tourist Trap X Bazinga

BACKGROUND NOISE (Paul Black '22)
TB Late-Very Late 34” (86cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Two of this year’s introductions are from this cross that produced many delightful seedlings. ‘Me and My Shadow’ has proven to be a solid parent for quality later blooming hardy plicatas. Light blending to dark butterscotch standards have fine darker caramel veining. Styles are darker butterscotch with styles veined brown. Crisp white falls are decorated with wide dark burgundy plicata bands while near black irregular lines descend part way down their centers. Three well-spaced branches carry 7-8 buds. A vigorous and hardy plicata.
Sdlg. Z100I: Me and My Shadow X First Pick

AMERICA’S TOP MODEL (Paul Black 23)
TB Early-Midseason 36” (91cm)
Slight sweet fragrance Isn’t she stunning as she glides down the runway! Pristine white standards encapsulate white styles rimmed pink. Silken, diamond dusted creamy falls wash to pale buff edges. Mid pink beards assure her couture is anything but common. Hybridizers have worked many years for whites with pink instead of orange beards and finally here it is. Well-branched stalks have 3 branches and 7 buds. Sdlg. AA98A: W77A: (S74OO: (Kiss of Passion x All My Dreams) x S53A: (Royal Sterling x Giorgio)) X Y18A: (Multnomah Falls x Strawberry Shake)

LOVELY LIVVY (T. Johnson ’23)
TB early-midseason 35” (89cm)
Lightly scented. LOVELY LIVVY (T. Johnson ’23) TB early-midseason 35” (89cm) Lightly scented. This gorgeous iris is named to honor the late great Olivia Newton-John. Olivia was not only a very talented celebrity but she was a gorgeous human being. Although I never met her, I certainly followed her career and life. Always a kind, warm and loving person, she never acted the celebrity, taking time to acknowledge all who came upon her. She courageously fought breast cancer in an out of remission for 20 years. Never one to complain she always looked on the positive side of things. The latter part of her life was dedicated to finding a cure for Cancer. She founded the Oliva Newton-John Cancer And Wellness Centre In Melbourne, Australia, the country she called home. Here she tirelessly raised money to support cancer research using plant-based treatments. Lovely Livvy was the pet name the media used throughout Olivia’s life to describe her. The iris we have chosen to honor her kind of named itself. Firstly, it is pink, the color of breast cancer awareness. On top of that, I made the cross in the garden of Barry and Lesley Blyth (using two of Barry’s seedlings), who live only miles from where Olivia grew up. Lovely Livvy is an extraordinary and unique creation in a color combination that has not yet been seen in iris until now. White standards are flushed pink. Falls are a deeper rose pink with a gorgeous ruffled white band. Olivia with her kind and generous heart inspired me to do my part, so I donated a portion of the proceeds of each plant sold in its introductory year (2023) to her Cancer research centre in Australia. Sdlg. TJ335B: X267-12 (U232-1: (S290-3: Raise the Curtain x Another Woman) x (S69-1: (02-185c: Restless Heart x Queen’s Circle) x (02-191B: Tour De France x Rippling River))) x Bashful Love. X Walk Right Back pod parent.

HOW BIZARRE! (Paul Black 23)
TB Midseason-Very Late 36” (91cm)
Slight musky fragrance My ‘Action Packed’ has given rise to many other excitingly patterned standards and falls like ‘How Bizarre!”. Pale chalky grayed violet elliptical standards centers give way to wide mid tan-gold bands heavily veined and rimmed mid red brown. Velvety purple black falls have white centers heavily veined and sanded dark purple. Old gold beards echo standards color. An easy late show winner with 3 branches and 7 buds. Strong growth and clean disease resistant foliage. Sdlg. AA73A: Laser Light Show X Black X141E: (Black U53D, Rise Like a Phoenix sib x Black U38B, Jungle Mist sib)

CORAL JEWEL (L. Miller ’23)
TB Midseason-late 31” (79cm)
Lightly fragrant. More coral than pink, this self reminds me of the coral jewelry you can obtain in Hawaii. The color always stops me in the garden because of its intensity. The coral-pink is a little creamy around the beards. Beards are coral, lightening to peach at the upturned tip. Flowers are ruffled with slightly crimped edges. Produces 7 to 12 large flowers per stalk. Sdlg. 7316B For Lovers Only X 9013B: (7211: In Love Again x Super Model) x Fiesta Orange))

WHAT'S UP (Keppel '23)
TB Midseason 38" (97cm)
Standards are an interesting blend of rosy tan and violet. Falls are a brassy yellow with a copper to orange beard. ((Nouveau Riche x (Mysterious Ways sib x Safari Sunset)) X Mysterious Ways sib x Safari Sunset) x (Mysterious Ways sib x (Summer Fashion x Coming Up Roses) x Lotus Land))))

ON MY WAY (T. Johnson ’24)
TB Midseason-late 36” (91cm)
Sweet fragrance. Very pretty shade of mauve to lavender standards, deeper in color at the base. Pretty buff pink style arms add a bit of subtle contrast. Falls are very light mauve to near white. Beards are a true lavender with white hair tips. This iris is from blue bearded pink breeding. I can visualize someday having a white with a large lavender beard. Sdlg. TK155ZZ: Simply Fabulous X unknown, illegible tag

JUST FOR JACKIE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Jackie is one of my best friends. She has always been a big help by leaving pink post-it notes on seedlings she thinks I should keep. We’ve had many good laughs together. She also insists on helping me plant my iris seeds each fall. Of course I wouldn’t hurt her feelings by saying no. She makes it all fun. She likes brown irises, so for her here is a white and dark red-brown plicata. Note the pronounced lines in the falls. Strong stalks have three branches and 8-9 buds. This is one of many exceptional seedlings coming from Crocodile Smile.
Sdlg. BB106C: Crocodile Smile X Z100D, Background Noise sib