Bearded Irises
Tall Bearded, Intermediate Bearded, Border Bearded, & Arilbred Irises
(Brad Kasperek, 1998), IB, height 21", midseason bloom, broken color.
Lightly ruffled gold and tan blend tinged greyed yellow, lightly peppered greyed purple, with white inclusions, style arms yellow, midrib purple, beards orange, pronounced musky fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2002.
(J. Terry Aitken, R. 2006), SDB, 10.5”, midseason to very late bloom.
Bright pink self, fuchsia purple spot on falls; beards coral pink.
Honorable Mention 2008; Award of Merit 2010.
(David Toth, 2019), TB, 38", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards eggshell white streaked mauve-pink; style arms mauve-pink; falls same as standards; beards orange in throat, mauve in middle and ends, fuzzy ¾˝ mauve-pink horns; slight sweet fragrance.
(Carol Coleman, 2012), SDB, 10.5"-13”, early bloom season.
Standards pale green-yellow, midrib dark purple; style arms pale green-yellow, brilliant blue-purple midrib, edge pale-purple, small very pale purple eyelash lines above stigmatic lip; Falls strong purple, dark purple thumbprint around beard, small pale green-yellow front edge; beard base mid-orange in throat and middle, brilliant blue-purple at end, tips brilliant blue-purple in middle and light blue at end; purple based foliage; slight sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2015, Award Of Merit 2017
(Richard Ernst, 1983), TB, 36" (91 cm), Midseason bloom.
Standards lightly laced light golden tan with lavender infusion; falls lavender with 1/8" golden tan border, gold shoulders, white infusion near yellow beard.
Honorable Mention 1989; Award of Merit 1993.
(Hooker Nichols, 2001), TB, 36", midseason to late bloom, broken color.
Flax blue, irregularly splashed, marked and streaked darker flax blue and violet, Falls with gold hafts; beards gold and blue; ruffled.
(Bryan Spoon by Donald Spoon, 2011), TB, 36", late midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards and style arms variegated pale yellow green with lavender streaks and blue splashes; falls light jade, darker jade streaks and splashes, second variegation of white wedges with purple centers, and golden yellow hafts; beards golden yellow.
Honorable Mention 2015
(David Toth, 2023), TB, 32", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards pale yellow, lightly splashed with shades of pink, red, lavender, and purple; style arms yellow, splashed red; falls white center blending to yellow, boldly splashed with shades of red and purple; beards yellow, long smooth horns, white top, light purple underneath; absent fragrance.
Photo by David Toth at Indian Creek Irises
(Gerald Richardson, 2013), TB, 33" (84 cm), midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards and style arms pale lavender; falls light buff, stippled violet; beards light orange, upward pointing violet horns; slight fragrance.
(Thomas Johnson, 2017), SDB, 14", late midseason bloom.
Standards tan to muted yellow; style arms light blue; Falls large brown spot encircled by a diffused yellow edge blending to a lavender washed band, yellow edge; beards brown and tangerine in throat, ends bushy blue; slight fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2022
(Paul Black, 2013), SDB, 15.5", midseason to late bloom.
Standards violet-purple center blending to slate-buff margin; style arms peach, orchid-pink midrib and edge; Falls pale buff-peach, haft sanded slightly darker, mid red-violet sanded and veined spot; beards coral; slight musky fragrance.
(Donald Spoon, 2015), SDB, 11" (28 cm), late midseason bloom.
Standards pure white, erect, style arms same, light blue-green midribs; falls pure white, unique blue-green spot, white spike below beards, yellow-green, yellow-green veins, yellow-green shoulders, flared; beards white, tipped orange; ruffled; slight sweet fragrance.
Photo: Delane H. Langton
(Don Murphy, 2013), TB, 34", early midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards and style arms pale lavender, near white; Falls lavender, streaked medium and dark purple, purple haft lines; beards orange rosy-pink; broken color pattern in falls.
(Paul Black, 2016), TB, 38", midseason to very late bloom.
Standards white center heavily sanded mid wine blending to dark wine band; style arms mid old gold, slate-violet ridge, dark plum-brown crest; Falls mid yellow ground sanded rose-plum, wide dark red-brown sanded plicata band, same color random dotting over center and center stripe, white patch in throat; beard hairs based white, tips mid marigold; pronounced sweet fragrance.
(Kenneth Fisher, 2015), MTB, 20", late bloom.
Standards medium blue; Falls same, white veined blaze; beards yellow in throat, light yellow in middle, white end.
Honorable Mention 2017. Award Of Merit 2022
(William Tyson, 2023), TB, 34" (86.5 cm), early to midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards light violet, streaked dark violet; style arms light violet, streaks of violet; falls light violet, streaks and wedges of dark violet; beards burnt orange; slight sweet fragrance.
Photo: Sutton's Iris Garden
(Ben Hager, 1990), TB, 34", early bloom and re-bloom.
Standards white, lightly peppered blue violet to solid edge; style arms deep violet; falls white, bold lines radiating from white beard, blue violet plicata edge.
Honorable Mention 1994.
(Allan Ensminger, 1995), TB, 33", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards egyptian buff, streaked and splashed rhodamine purple; style arms chrome yellow; Falls egyptian buff with chrome yellow hafts, rhodamine purple streaks and splashes; beards chrome yellow.
(Hugh Stout, 2016), SDB, 15.5" (39 cm), early midseason bloom.
Standards golden buckskin marked deep beetroot red, reverse same as falls; style arms old gold, light purple stigmatic lip; Falls cream-white ground, golden toward hafts and edge, heavy beetroot purple plicata markings around hafts and beard, lighter markings in center, pronounced on gold edge; beard hairs based bright purple, tips old golden brown.
Honorable Mention 2019.
Photo: Stout Gardens
(Randall Moore, 2021), TB, 38", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards light cream to blue, pale violet with age, light tan inside center, random splotches of grape-purple especially near the edge, wavy; style arms light violet-blue, tan underside; falls light cream or blue ground, overlaid random grape-purple splotches, purple lines over tan at hafts; beards rust-yellow in throat, lemon-yellow middle and ends; slight fragrance.
Honorable Mention, 2023.
Photo: Stout Gardens
(Allan Ensminger, 1985), BB, 26", midseason bloom, broken color.
White ground, striped royal purple; yellow beard tipped white.
Honorable Mention 1988; Favorite Guest 1988; Award of Merit 1990; Knowlton Medal 1992.
(Michael Sutton, 2010), TB, 34" (86 cm), early to midseason bloom and rebloom.
Standards bright yellow, white edge veined yellow; style arms yellow, pale cream edge; Falls red purple infused darker, white area around beards blending to 1/4" violet blue band on top half of petal, 1/4" yellow brown band on lower half of petal; beards yellow; ruffled; pronounced sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2013.
Photo: Mid-America Gardens
(B. Warburton, 1984), SDB, height 13" (34 cm), midseason bloom.
Heavily ruffled pale violet-blue; matching beard; wide blue and rosy styles; slight spicy fragrance.
Honorable Mention 1991, Award of Merit 1993.
Photo: Delane H. Langton
(Bennett Jones, 1990), SDB, 11", midseason bloom.
Flax blue with deeper blended spot on falls; self beard.
High Commendation 1989; Honorable Mention 1993; Award of Merit 1995; Cook-Douglas Medal 1997.
(Paul Black, 2013), MDB, 7.5", early to midseason bloom and rebloom.
Standards pale buff-pink, mid red-violet plicata stitched edge, random dotting over center, dark purple-black midrib; style arms red-grape crest and midrib, light rose edge; falls buff-cream, widely spaced purple-black eye lash lines along beards extending 3/4 way down falls, grape sanding on outer edge of haft; beards red-orange in throat, mid-orange in middle, white ends, hairs based white; slight sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2015, Award Of Merit 2017, Caparne-Welch Medal 2019.
'Beta Gnu' (Brad Kasperek, 2009), SPEC-X, 21", early to midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards violet purple, streaked silver white, occasional light yellow streaks; style arms cream light yellow, violet purple and white streaks; Falls violet purple, streaked white, cream or light yellow in widely varying combinations; beards deep yellow in throat, yellow tips in middle, white at end; slight fragrance.
(B. Kasperek, 1994), TB, 30", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards streaked light mauve and silver white; falls dark mauve with silver white streaking, sunshine yellow shoulders with mauve veining; beards golden brown; laced, lightly ruffled; slight fragrance.
Honorable Mention 1997, Award of Merit 1999.
(Paul Black, 2015), TB, 42", early to midseason bloom.
Standards mid Dutch chocolate blended to dark brass-tan on upper 1/3; style arms dark old gold, darker edge, mid violet lip; falls dark plum-brown, veined white haft, mid grape center to lighter sanded veins blending to wide mid tan-gold band; beards dark orange in throat, mid orange in middle, mid violet end; pronounced sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2019.
Photo by Paul Black at Mid-America Gardens.
(Paul Black, 2013), TB, 35, midseason to late bloom, broken color.
Standards warm white and tan segments, mid violet to red-violet irregular splashed segments and mottling; style arms mid tan, violet crest lines; falls warm white and mid apricot segments, mid violet to mid purple segments and mottling; beards based white, orange tips; slight spicy fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2021.
(M. Sutton, 2020), SDB, 12", early bloom.
Michael Sutton, 2020), SDB, 12" (30 cm), Early bloom.
Standards and style arms violet-blue; falls deep violet, violet-blue edge; beards white; slight sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2023.
Photo courtesy of Suttons Iris Garden
(Earl Roberts, 1966), MDB, 6" tall, very early bloom season.
Standards bright medium blue; falls purple, edged lighter on lower hafts; light blue beards.
High Commendation 1966; Honorable Mention 1968; ASM 1970; BR 1971; Caparne Award 1971; Walter Welch Medal 1973.
(Thomas Johnson, 2017), SDB, 15", early bloom season.
Standards light lemon yellow, deeper in center; style arms extremely light yellow; falls light yellow, deeper yellow wash around beard; beards large, bushy, deep inky blue; slight fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2019; Award of Merit 2021.
(Paul Black, 2006), SDB, 14.5", late midseason bloom.
Standards and style arms white, Standards fine green-gold veins up rib networking outward; falls white, very fine network of greenish texture veins; beards dark indigo; ruffled; slight sweet fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2008; Walther Cup 2008. Award of Merit 2010; Cook Douglas Medal 2012.
(David Toth, 2022), TB, 34" (86 cm), early bloom, broken color.
Standards light lavender-blue; style arms same, rich purple along stigmatic lip; falls light lavender-blue, streaked rich purple; beards light gold.
Photo: Andrew Brownfield
(Chuck Chapman, 2002), SDB, 11", early bloom + reblooms.
Standards blue, dark violet red near base; style arms blue; Falls reddish tan, brownish red central spot fading to blue edge, short blue spear at end of dark blue beard; tailored, flared.
Honorable Mention 2005; Award of Merit 2008
(Michael Sutton, 2009), TB, 35", early midseason bloom and rebloom.
Standards orange buff flushed pink at midribs; style arms buff orange; falls ruby red veined orange, lighter veining around carrot beards, greyed-orange 1/4" rim; slight musky fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2012; Award of Merit 2014; Wister Medal 2018; American Dykes Medal 2019.
(Paul Black, 2010), SDB, 13", midseason late bloom.
Standards and style arms medium slate violet; Falls medium-dark red plum, wide blended and veined red violet band; beards orange in throat, grey orange in middle, light blue at end; pronounced spicy fragrance.
Honorable Mention 2012.
(Ava Toth, 2021), IB, 24", midseason bloom, broken color.
Standards smooth grape-purple; style arms grape-purple; falls smooth grape-purple, streaks of dark purple; beard hairs based purple, tips lavender; slight musky fragrance.
(Paul Black, 2019), TB, 37", midseason to late bloom, broken color.
Standards white randomly splashed mid red-violet; style arms palest lilac, laced crests streaked mid brown; falls white center to mid cantelope, center randomly lined, sanded and streaked mid red-purple; beards based white, tips tangerine; slight musky fragrance.
Honorable Mention, 2023.
