CASA VICENTE (Seligmann, 1985) OGB Heart Stealer X Song of Esther. An adobe bitone with burgundy beard and V-shaped signal patch of intense veining. An excellent parent from "pinkish" breeding that throws a variety of colors when outcrossed. For example: seedlings from Casa Vicente X Joint Venture included shades of ivory, yellow, lavender-pink, cocoa, and reddish brown. "Casa Vicente" was the name of Col. Seligmann's home - a classic adobe. To those of us in the garden when it was named, the choice was obvious. To those familiar with the house it was logical, but to most it has remained a puzzle - and inevitably prompts questions when I include it in a slide show. A fully fertile halfbred that I recommend highly for beginners.

CHARMING IMAGE (Flanagan, 1990) OGB- Mistress X (Thunder-storm x Mayfest). Pale beige with light violet blush over standards and rosy red flush in the center of the falls. Has set a few seeds to Joint Venture pollen in the only test I've conducted of its fertility, none of which survived to bloom size. Would recommend trying it with 1/2-breds, though.

CHILD OF GOD (Hunt, 1986) OGB Registered as "Parentage Unknown" because clear records were lost, but my study of Gene's overall garden records leads me to suspect that it may well be an offspring of Boaz X Jean Ralls. Pale lilac standards, lightly veined deeper lilac around the edges. Pale rose-buff falls, veined violet. Violet striped signal area. Its breeding behavior is that of a fully functional halfbred, so I've experimented with it in quest of veined and plicata-like patterns. It has proven to be an excellent parent, whether paired with halfbreds, near arils, or arils. I've tried it with my "pseudo-plicatas", for example, and consider it to definitely be worth trying in "mix-up-the-genes-and-see-what-happens" crosses. With Werckmeister's Beauty, it gave a nice variety of colors and patterns. With Persian Embroidery, it produced Toldjaso and a soft blue with rounded form. I recommend it highly to people who aren't as hung up on pedigrees as I am.

CLASSIC ELEGANCE (McAllister, 1996) OGB+ A presumably tetraploid 3/4-bred from Ballalaika Music X Sunrise in Glory, which has demonstrated limited fertility when paired with a tetraploid aril, but has not produced any offspring when used with arilbreds. Classic oval form, aril veining and signal, with the elegance of silk and velvet. Iridescent violet standards have fine bronze veining around the edges. Inner half of falls is brass, veined bronze, while the outer half is velvety reddish-violet with a velvet flush radiating from black signal. The most-admired and most-named of my selected seedlings of the last few years, but almost all of the suggested names were descriptive and had already been used.

CLOSE CONTACT (Flanagan, 1889) OGB (Mainstream x Dawn Victory) X (Desert Mirage x Unknown). Pale violet standards are flushed golden brown along the midrib. Golden tan falls have a large red-black signal and red-black beard. I've used this one in quest of bushy black beards.

CLOUDS OF JOY (McAllister, 1995) OGB Granted Wish X Sunrise in Glory. Pure white standards, yellowed-ivory falls, brass dotting around brass beard. The unusually large flower has excellent substance, with billowing standards and slightly recurved falls. Its offspring also tend to have unusually large flowers, but inherit markings from the other parent. I've been using it heavily in my work with both delicately- and heavily-marked pastels. There was once a jazz group named the "Mightly Clouds of Joy", too many words for an iris name, of course, so it had to be shortened. The name had been on my list for a while, so when this billowing flower with white standards and yellow-ivory falls came up as a candidate for a name it just seemed to "fit".

CODE OF SILENCE (McAllister, 1995) OGB+ Wished for Child X I. kirkwoodii. A subtle mixture of pastels (ivory, yellow, and pinkish lilac) rarely found in the near-arils. The pinkish-lilac standards fade to almost white and the yellowed-ivory falls are brushed with pale lilac to create an overall pinkish-yellow blend. The name refers to whatever there is in its genetic code that silences the usual dark pigments. Presumably triploid, based on both its pedigree and relatively limited fertility, but an outstanding parent when it's in the mood. Has given nice seedlings when paired with halfbreds and especially striking ones when used with tetraploid arils. I recommend this one for experimenters, not beginners.

CODE TALKER (McAllister, 1995) OGB+ Sib to Boaz X Dunshanbe. Graham-cracker ground flushed with blue violet in center of both standards and falls and edged with golden filigree, mother-of pearl style arms have a blue-violet mid-rib and tan crests. Large reddish-black signal. No evidence of fertility so far, when used with halfbreds. Not yet tested with tetraploid arils. A great garden subject and show flower, but as a breeder it's of interest only to experimenters. Named for the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, whose messages were also unbreakable.

COMMUNION (Hunt-McAllister, 1990) OGB Jean Ralls X Hallelujah Chorus. Pale amethyst standards; flesh-toned falls; blood-red signal. A proven, fully fertile halfbred. Early surprise: an outstanding variegated quarterbred. Few of its 1/2-bred offspring have bloomed for me yet because I've given so many seeds away, but it does seem to transmit its excellent signal to its children. This one just seemed to name itself.

COPE GOODWIN (McAllister, 1992) OGB- Sostenique X Tribe of Judah. Very pale blue-white standards, medium blue-violet falls, large bluish-black signal. This is a conventional quarterbred, which is not expected to be fertile, so I haven't made any test crosses with it - but I do think it's worth trying with the tetraploid arils. Named for Dr. W. C. (Cope) Goodwin, without whose encouragement I would not have resumed working with 1/4-breds and would never have produced this.