This is a Rows Garden puzzle, of course, in which 13 bloom clues are both missing a word and give a five-letter answer.
Some of the missing words are obvious, and the top and bottom rows of the grid (CHAMPIONS and HOOPSTERS) should be solveable even before solvers figure out all the details. The orange, and the red-white-and-blue colors confirm that we are looking for NBA championship teams.
The list of years at the bottom gives solvers the names of 13 teams, some of which they should have already figured out from context. This will help them complete the remaining bloom clues.
The resulting grid is:
with answers listed below.
Extraction works like this: Take each of the 13 years, in the order given. Find the bloom clue which was missing the name of that year’s NBA championship-winning team. Take the extra letter from that bloom, as given by the row answers. Those letters spell out SHOOTING STARS, which is another description of these Rose Garden visitors, and your final answer.
| A | CHAMPIONS | Some Rose Garden visitors |
| B | SPLIT PEA | Soup for a foggy day? (2 wds.) |
| PLASMA DISPLAY | Schmancy TV option, once (2 wds.) | |
| C | PHEASANT | Bird that gets plucked in a tongue twister |
| STREET SWEEPER | One source of spring steel for lock picks (2 wds.) | |
| D | HEALTHY MEAL | Salad for lunch, say (2 wds.) |
| GHOST STORY | A tale told by a campfire (2 wds.) | |
| E | STRONG DOLLAR | It increases your purchasing power when traveling overseas (2 wds.) |
| TAPE DECKS | What gen-X teens used to play Menudo (2 wds.) | |
| F | MERCURATION | Process of introducing element 80 |
| EMISSARIES | Ambassadors | |
| G | MAJOR PLANETS | Four or eight celestial bodies, depending on your source (2 wds.) |
| REDOUBLER | Someone who aggressively believes in their bridge partner’s bid | |
| H | ANSWER FOR | Give a response on behalf of (2 wds.) |
| RF OSCILLATOR | Circuitry at WBZ’s transmitter (2 wds.) | |
| I | WORK NIGHTS | Take the graveyard shift (2 wds.) |
| EXASPERATED | Peevish or testy (or how someone might feel about our bizarre choices for clues, say) | |
| J | INTERSPERSES | Weaves |
| WHITENERS | Bleaches, particularly in toothpaste | |
| K | SPACE SAVER | Lawn chair after a blizzard in Boston, say (2 wds.) |
| INDENTATION | Divot, for example | |
| L | HOOPSTERS | Some Rose Garden visitors |
Bloom answers are given in top-to-bottom left-to-right order.
Red blooms
| PHELPS | Olympic swimming great |
| SPENT | Gave up in exchange for goods, as one does with BUCKS, moolah, or do-re-mi |
| DAMES | Titled women like Maggie Smith, who played one of the WIZARDS in the Harry Potter franchise |
| REPLAY | Live broadcasts may show one instantly |
| CONGRU | French term describing two identical triangles |
| ALONE | How MAVERICKS like to go it |
| ERASED | Wiped out |
| ROWAN | Atkinson whose “Blackadder” had a Comic Relief Red Nose special about CAVALIERS in 1988 |
| FORTH | Back and ____, like the motion of PISTONS in an engine |
| ASPICS | Savory gelatin dishes |
| ROTTED | Like fruit past its prime |
| CHOOSE | Elect |
| SPRINT | 50-yard dash, e.g. |
| TATERS | Where tots come from? |
White blooms
| ATLAS | Book in which the lands of the CELTICS might be found under “Ireland and U.K.” |
| GLARE | Anthem word after “the ROCKETS’ red” |
| TWEETS | Opines in |
| JAMMER | Cell block device? |
| LATINA | Hispanic woman |
| DERMIS | Skin |
| RELIES | Counts (on) |
| SINKER | Partner of hook and line |
| SEXES | Distinguishes cows from BULLS, for example |
| ARETE | Rugged mountain crest where HAWKS might live |
Blue blooms
| HAPTIC | Like some feedback on your phone |
| PSALM | Liturgical poem sometimes ascribed to one of the KINGS of Israel |
| PSIONS | Telepaths or subatomic particles |
| HEARTS | Red suit |
| MELODY | What altos and basses almost never get to sing, not that we’re bitter or anything |
| PATHS | They are first traversed by TRAILBLAZERS |
| ROCKY | Turbulent, like a flight through THUNDER and lightning |
| PROWER | Sonic’s BFF Miles |
| FOSTER | Promote or nurture |
| BALLOU | Fonda’s Cat |
| TAPS IN | Sinks the ball from an inch away (2 wds.) |
| REPAVE | Update one’s driveway |
| WHINED | Bellyached |
| REINS | Lines of control, often used by someone wearing SPURS |
Teams by year
| Year | Team | Word | Extra letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | BULLS | SEXES | S |
| 2008 | CELTICS | ATLAS | H |
| 2003 | SPURS | REINS | O |
| 1977 | TRAILBLAZERS | PATHS | O |
| 1994 | ROCKETS | GLARE | T |
| 1951 | KINGS | PSALM | I |
| 1958 | HAWKS | ARETE | N |
| 1990 | PISTONS | FORTH | G |
| 1979 | THUNDER | ROCKY | S |
| 1978 | WIZARDS | DAMES | T |
| 1971 | BUCKS | SPENT | A |
| 2011 | MAVERICKS | ALONE | R |
| 2016 | CAVALIERS | ROWAN | S |