HOW DO PLANTS QUENCH THEIR THIRST? - Confused geraniums.

Mrs. Westwood lives in a small, calm village. She has been in retire for two years now thus she has plenty of time for her hobby – gardening. She is very proud especially of her geraniums which are admired by all the inhabitants of the village. Mrs. Westwood has the geraniums on all her window ledges and also hanging on the fence so that everyone walking by can see them.

This June has started very tough time for the village. Due to the closure on nearby highway a road diversion has been going through the village. All the noises and smells of fumes produced by cars and tracks have affected the calm life of villagers very much.

At the end of June, Mrs. Westwood noticed that her always so beautiful geraniums had started to wilt even though she watered and manured them as usually. And moreover, Mrs. Westwood also noticed that the water level in flower boxes stayed the same for many days. “Why the geraniums don’t drink when there is obviously lack of water in them?” That was a real mystery for Mrs. Westwood…

Can you think of a reason why the geraniums don’t absorb any water despite of the fact that they are wilting?