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THE BOTANICAL MYSTERY SHOP / PUZZLE Nº 01

Soil pH Whisperer

A little soil science. A very particular bouquet.

TEST THE SOIL
✳
TRUST THE CLUES
Your flower shop is ready.Five customers · 100 seconds · or take your time in practice
THE HYDRANGEA ATELIER1:40
A color story, written in soil.NEXT-SEASON PREVIEW
ACIDIC / BLUE*HIGHER pH / PINK

*Blue also needs aluminum and a color-responsive cultivar.

CUSTOMER FILE / 01 OF 050 pts

A mystery is about to bloom.

“The flowers have a story. Shall we listen?”
BOUQUET: PINKWISH: BLUE
01 / INSPECT
Your test report will appear here.
Color alone cannot tell you an exact soil pH.
02 / ANALYZE THE MYSTERY
03 / TUNE THE LIVING PLANTpH —
NEXT MOVE

Open the shop to meet your first customer.

THE SCIENCE UNDER THE PETALS · In responsive bigleaf hydrangeas, soil pH affects aluminum availability, which affects flower color. White cultivars may stay white. Real changes take months or seasons; these pH steps, color bands and supply tokens are puzzle abstractions, not application rates. Read the UGA Extension field guide ↗

For the curious at heart. A pocket-sized collection of science-inspired games.
Made for a quick break, a little discovery, and one more round.

DESKTOP / TABLET / MOBILE
Your browser is your playground.

THE WHISPERER'S FIELD NOTES

Test. Interpret. Let it bloom.

  1. Open shop for a 100-second shift, or choose untimed Practice. Solve five customer cases.
  2. Test soil & cultivar. Read the original pH, aluminum supply and cultivar result. A pink bouquet alone does not prove alkaline soil.
  3. Choose the analysis supported by the evidence: Acidic soil, Raised pH, or Another clue for scarce aluminum or a white cultivar.
  4. For blue, acidify to the game's 4.7–5.6 band and restore aluminum only if scarce. For pink, add lime to reach the 6.3–7.4 band. Intermediate soil produces a purple preview. Below pH 7 is still acidic: pink does not require strictly alkaline soil.
  5. White cultivar? Keep its soil and explain its natural color. Press Grow next-season bloom to complete the case, then Next customer.

Each completed case earns 100 points, minus 10 per incorrect analysis or premature bloom attempt, with a 40-point minimum. Unfinished cases earn no points. Treatment steps do not cost points. Perfect shop score: 500.

All controls work with mouse, touch, or Tab and Enter/Space. Help pauses the clock; Pause, hidden tabs and focus changes also pause play. Resume when ready. Sound uses the local non-competing action track. Replay starts fresh; no account or storage is needed.

Cut flowers cannot be recolored by treating soil. The canvas represents the customer's living plant and previews its future flowers. Real soil chemistry is gradual, cultivar-dependent and affected by buffering and other conditions. This is a simplified puzzle.