IN PURSUIT OF PUZZLES

Rows Garden #4

Photo credit: James Hoey

Time for another Rows Garden!

I’m proud to share that the very first Rows Garden puzzle I ever constructed, posted here on July 5th, was nominated for a 2026 ORCA award (Best Variety Puzzle). Given the quality of the competition, there’s ZERO chance I’ll win, but as is so often said, “It’s an honor just to be nominated.” The other constructors in the category are absolutely terrific. If you’d like to learn more about the ORCAS, click here.

This puzzle includes a couple of fortuitous pairings, which I’ll let you discover. And I learned some fun trivia vis-a-vis the image above.

As a reminder, if you opt to solve here online, note that the groups of ‘rose blooms’ are not clued in order; you’ll need to use the row answers to figure out where to plant each bloom.

If you prefer solving on paper, pdfs of both regular (bloom categories clued in the order in which they appear in the garden) and thorny versions (blooms clued out of order) are available for download below.

Made by Jeanne D. Breen using the free crossword maker from Amuse Labs
rows_garden__4__regular_version_Download
rows_garden__4__thorny_version_Download

Responses

  1. Jeff Avatar
    Jeff

    Congratulations on the ORCA nod – that’s a big deal! This was a very enjoyable puzzle with lots of fun cluing and some good TIL entries. Alas, I’m not comfortable with the online solving interface. Being colorblind, I had a bit of trouble distinguishing medium and dark clues and blossoms. When I solve on paper, I like to jot down the answers to the blossoms, which then helps me solve the rows. FWIW, my son is working on a Rows Garden solving app (he, like I, is not thrilled with the current online options, even though he’s not colorblind). When it’s time for beta testing, I’d love to loop you in as a constructor

    Reply
  2. JDB Avatar
    JDB

    I’d love to see what your son is working on! FWIW, I too prefer solving rows gardens on paper! And I have the same MO as you, i.e. writing down the 6-letter blossom entries. Are you familiar with the Multiflora app? (https://multiflora.app/) It allows one to fill in answers for the rows and the blossoms; when you’ve entered an answer in the garden, the clue automatically gets crossed out. I wish there was a way for me to embed that interface into my blog.

    As always, Jeff, thanks for solving and commenting!

    Reply

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