WINTER’S SMILE (P. Black ‘16)
TB Early-Late 35” (89cm)
‘Winter’s Smile’ is big and broad and smiling from ear to ear. Here’s another selection from the “beauty” cross. Plush warm white flowers have big looping ruffles. Standards have a greenish blush up midribs. Strongly flared falls are blushed palest gold over hafts. Warm white beards touched pale tan don’t detract from the classic sculp- tured form. Robust clean growth produces clumps filled with show stalks having 3 branches and 9-10 buds.
TB Award of Merit 2021
Sdlg. U1H, Luxuriant sib

MAGNUM GOLD (Paul Black 23)
TB Early-Late 34” (86cm)
Pronounced spicy fragrance The name says it all, huge flowers and plenty of them. Heavily ruffled mid-dark yellow-gold flowers with vibrant marigold beards are a bold statement in the garden. You can’t miss it. Strong growth produces show stalks with 3 branches and 8 buds. Sdlg. AA58A: Winter’s Smile X Marrying Kind

PRINCESS PRETTY PINK (Paul Black 23)
TB Midseason-Late 34” (86.5cm)
Slight musky fragrance This later blooming pink ground plicata avoids the winter damage that plagued so many earlier ones of this type. Ruffled standards are mid pink blending to mid apricot edges. Mid coral styles echo these warmer colors. Light pink falls have white luminata type patches lined mid plum. Narrow ruffled red-plum plicata bands encircle the expansive falls. Coral beards are the perfect accessory. Vigorous growth creates sumptuous clumps filled with show stalks having 3 branches and 8-10 buds. Sdlg. BB149G: Black Y135A: (All too Exciting x Fancy Ideas) X Z100G, Background Noise sib

SACK OF SUNSHINE (Black ’24)
TB Early-midseason 35” (89cm)
Sweet fragrance. This vigorous and hardy yellow ground plicata comes from very different breeding. It produces consistent show stalks that are at home in the garden or on the show bench. Plicata markings are somewhat variable from one year to the next. Use it to breed for better plicata winter hardiness. Sldg. BB98A: Black Y52B: (Black U14A: (Dog Days x Black R133A: (Black O159B: (Out Of The Dark x Sea Power) x Black P75B: (Black L83D, Wonders Never Cease sib x Cheap Frills))) x Black U1A, Luxuriant sib) X Black Z90F: (Black V143B, Heartfelt sib x Black V154F: (Black S114B, Dare Me sib x Black S112H, Bright On Top sib))

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

CASTLES IN THE SKY (Paul Black 26)
TB Late-very late 33” (84cm) Slight musky fragrance.
White standards have a wide luminous light cornflower blue plicata banding. Broad white falls are boldly framed with a narrow mid violet-blue plicata band and dramatic solid hafts. Mid blue beards are a subtle complement. Robust, winter-hardy plants produce strong show stalks, having 3 branches plus spur and 9-10 buds. Purple based blue-green foliage adds disease resistance. Stands out even from a distance. Sdlg. CC109A: Black Z100H, Background Noise sibling X Black AA45A: (Rumor Has It x Me And My Shadow)