30 January 2016

The Botanic Garden, Friendship Flowers and Gardening on the Island



Last updated on 10 May 2019 with rewards from premium Friendship Flowers, new Exclusive Flower


Above are two photographs of the Botanic Garden at Level 30, which at present is the highest level.  You will see the four unlocked Neighbour plots on the left, all filled.  The two flowers on the far left are 'real' Friendship Flowers.  The one on the left is Level 3 in the form of a Mega Doughnut Flower and the one on the right is a Level 2 Super Doughnut Flower.  To the right of those two are the new Heart Friendship Flowers, the flowers that can be purchased in the current sale and sent to your Neighbours.  The larger plot that holds a total of 12 flowers is for your own Flowers that you either have purchased in the Coins Mystery Shop or obtained through crossbreeding.

At the bottom right in the top photograph you will see a fully mature Colourful Plumeria.  This is a Level 1 flower that originally was created as a companion to special sales flowers and only sold during those sales.  Now you will find it randomly on a regular basis in the Coin Shop.  It grows very quickly and therefore is a good match for the 'sale' Friendship Flowers that grow fast and usually give RC Rewards both to the owner and the host gardener when crossbred.

Please note that a timed bonus to the Collection Set Rewards given for time-restricted Mission completion is the Clam Friendship Flower.  Some rumours have denigrated this flower, under the mistaken impression that when crossbred, it cannot give its owner a REAL Friendship Flower.  This is NOT the case!  Do not undervalue the Clam Friendship Flower.  It can produce a real Friendship Flower!



Exclusive Friendship Flower
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An update to the game in May 2019 placed a new Friendship Flower in the Exclusive Store.  (The Exclusive Store itself is fairly new, and is a department of the Market that is unlocked when a player reaches Country Club Level 6.)   The items that appear in the Exclusive Store are determined by a farmer's current Country Club Level.  At Level 10, the Exclusive Friendship Flower will appear.  It can be purchased for 5 RC in the Exclusive Store.  Although a farmer who is not at Country Club Level 10 will not find it there, that farmer can receive one in his/her Botanic Garden.

The Exclusive Friendship Flower, although the price is RC, gives 300 TC and 10 Power both to host and owner when crossbred.  It is included in the Flower Book and can be registered.


The Botanic Garden
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The Botanic Garden is situated on the Island and does not require any special Quests or expansions by itself.  It is unlocked automatically when you unlock the expansion next to it.  

When I wrote my Island Guide, there was neither Botanic Garden nor Mine.  These two options were unlocked automatically when they were released as I had all expansions.  I do believe that the Botanic Garden is unlocked when you complete the 6th Expansion as follows:

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6th Island Expansion
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Save 1000000 Coins to buy expansion
  (With 85000 Coins, it offered to allow me to skip the task for 15 RC, but the other tasks never allow partial completion so perhaps the price for skipping this task always is 15 RC) 

Have 300 Raisins to buy expansion
  Make these in the Dehydrator
  Skip for 30 RC 

N.B.  Your first Dehydrator is given to you in the previous expansion but other Dehydrators require 1200 Dev Points to unlock

Have 300 Peacock Hats to buy expansion
   Skip for 40 RC 

N.B.  The Hat Machine requires 1680 Dev Points to unlock

ONCE THIS EXPANSION HAS BEEN COMPLETED, THE LAST THREE EXPANSIONS ALL WILL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU AND YOU CAN CHOOSE TO EXPAND IN ANY ORDER:  

Note that the numbers I have given to the expansions are arbitrary, designated for each from left to right on the Map.



I believe this is the Expansion that unlocks the Botanic Garden automatically.  When I unlocked the Island and all Expansions, the Botanic Garden and Mine did not exist... when these options were released, I had all the Expansions.

Initiation into the Mysteries of Gardening
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This section is for beginners and those who do not understand how the Garden works.  Basically, with the monthly release of special sales of Friendship Flowers that carry RC Rewards, EVERY Farmer with access to the Botanic Garden can participate.  When the only Friendship Flowers were 'real' Friendship Flowers that one had to acquire by crossbreeding, many farmers who had not been tending their Garden long would not have any experience with them.

Basically, the Botanic Garden Quests are tutorials that show you how to raise a flower to maturity and how to increase Levels through crossbreeding.  They do take time to complete because a Level 2 or Level 3 Flower is not grown in a day or even a week, so be patient with those.

The Friendship Flowers that are offered in sales give farmers the opportunity to raise their Botanic Garden levels and to interact with their Neighbours in the Garden as well as earning some RC and giving some to a Neighbour.  Here is a step-by-step tutorial.

Try to BUY the Sale Flower when you are on your Island.  That way, when you are prompted to go to your Gift Box, you can send it to your Glasshouse instantly by choosing the 'Use' option.  Now it is in your Glasshouse ready to be sent to a Neighbour.

Go to your Glasshouse and find the Flower, then Choose 'Foster Care'.  A list of Neighbours who have unlocked the Botanic Garden will appear.  Here is where you can choose a Neighbour who has sent you a flower previously to 'pay' back the favour or a Neighbour who has a Level 1 mature flower on the right side of his/her Garden ready to crossbreed.  Time is not of the essence really but it is nice to have your Flower grown and crossbred as quickly as possible so both you and your Neighbour can earn the Reward.

NOTE:  NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR NEIGHBOUR WILL EARN ANY REWARDS UNTIL THE FRIENDSHIP FLOWER IS MATURE AND THEN CROSSBRED.

What this means is that, if a Neighbour has done you the favour of placing a sale Friendship Flower on the left side of your Garden, you need to have a mature Level 1 Flower to crossbreed with it or buy and place one from the Coin Mystery Shop as quickly as possible.  To tend a flower, wait until the icon above it appears.  It may be a trimmer icon or a spade icon for a Level 1 Flower.  When the icon appears, tap on the flower to tend it.  You must do the same for the flowers on both sides of the Garden.  The Sale Friendship Flowers ALWAYS are Level 1 Flowers which means that they can be grown quickly.  The Flowers sold in the Coin Mystery Shop ALWAYS are Level 1 Flowers as well.

To crossbreed a mature Level 1 Sale Friendship Flower, simply drag it from the left side of the Garden using the 'Move' Tool and place it on top of a MATURE Level 1 Flower on the right side of the Garden.  Choose 'Crossbreed' and you will have a result.  In the case of any sale Friendship Flower, you will not create another Friendship Flower, but you will get a Flower for your side of the Garden as well as an RC Reward usually.  BOTH parties will be given Rewards in this case.

Flower Levels
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There are little quest sequences that are activated when you first unlock your Botanic Garden and I have included them below with all tasks and rewards.  They were designed to initiate players into the mystery of the Botanic Garden but despite this, many farmers still are confused after performing the entire group of Quests.

The most frequent error is to assume that by tending a flower after maturity, it will change in Level. THIS CANNOT AND WILL NOT OCCUR!!!  The only way to obtain a flower of a higher level is by crossbreeding two flowers of the same Level.

The Flowers sold in the Coin Shop on the Island all are Level 1 ordinary flowers.  You need to bring two Level 1 Flowers to maturity in order to be able to crossbreed them to obtain a Level 2 Flower.  There is no guarantee for ANY result when crossbreeding, but two of the same type of flower has a better chance of creating a Level 2 Flower of the same type.  In other words, if you crossbreed two Viola Flowers, the most likely result is that you will obtain a Level 2 Super Viola Flower.  This does not occur every time, however.  You may obtain a Friendship Flower instead and THAT Flower would be a Level 1 Friendship Flower, like the Cupcake Flower or the Lollipop Flower.

When crossbreeding two Level 3 Flowers, you can obtain another Level 3 Flower or a Level 1 Friendship Flower.  For example, crossbreeding two Mega Roses could produce  another Mega Rose, a Level 1 Friendship Flower... or even a different Level 3 Flower.  The most likely result, however, is another Mega Rose.

You must understand that ALL results are random.  Players have logged their results over and over but whatever another player may claim, the results are random.  It does appear, as in many games, that every farm may be slightly skewed towards one specific result.  For example, on one farm, a player is more likely to obtain the Rafflesia than any other Level 3 Flower where on another farm, crossbreeding is more likely to yield the various levels of Lily...  If you are trying to complete your Flower book, you simply have to keep crossbreeding and crossbreeding...

Colourful Plumeria
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Originally, the Colourful Plumeria was placed in the Coin Shop temporarily when a special offer was available for Friendship Flowers not found in the Book such as the Ice Cream Flower, the Fire Chocolate and now, most recently, the Clam Friendship Flower that is a reward for completing the special time-restricted Quests.  These flowers when first released and used to crossbreed, never produced REAL Friendship Flowers.   This information was confirmed by the Developers at that time but matters have changed.  For a start, the Colourful Plumeria is available randomly at all times. Secondly, the Colourful Plumeria when crossbred CAN produce a real Friendship Flower randomly as can the Clam Friendship Flower.

Clam Friendship Flower
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The Colourful Plumeria is a flower that you can purchase in the Coin Shop and place on your own side of the Botanic Garden.  The Clam Friendship Flower, as its name suggests must be placed on a Neighbour's Garden.  It is given as a Reward for completing a timed Mission and completing registration of the entire Collection Set associated with that Mission within a specific time period.

The Clam Friendship Flower CAN and often DOES produce a real Friendship Flower when crossbred.  More often than not, however, it will produce one of the 'rare' Level 2 Flowers in the form of the Super Jagger Lips, Super Lily.

Introduction to Flower Levels
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First of all, the Level of any Flower in the Botanic Garden cannot be changed.  Bringing it to maturity will not change its level, and continuing to tend to any Mature Flower may give you special extra Rewards including Watering Cans, Fertilisers and Mystrons, but it will not increase its level.  The only way to obtain higher Levels of any Flower is through Crossbreeding, and in some cases, specific types do not exist at every level.

For example, there is no Level 1 Jagger Lips and no Level 1 Lily.  There is no Level 2 Rose nor is there a Level 2 Rafflesia.  The 'ordinary' Flowers are the Viola Tricolour, the Epiphyllium, the Venus Flytrap and the Chrysanthemum and these are the flowers that exist at all three Levels.

Friendship Flowers are those that can be 'fostered' by a neighbour.  They include the special premium flowers offered in the special sales:  Macaron, Ice Cream, Fire Chocolate, Snowflake, Heart, Coffee and Cocktail.  There is one Friendship Flower that can be earned by completing Quest Collection Sets in the form of the Clam Friendship Flower.  The other Friendship Flowers are produced SOLELY THROUGH CROSSBREEDING.  These are the three Levels of Cupcake, Lollipop and Doughnut.

This post gives ALL details about the Botanic Garden and the business of fostering, crossbreeding, tending, borrowing and lending as well as Flower Registration.

Botanic Garden Plots and Glasshouse
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There is a total of 12 places for flowerpots in the garden and four places for Neighbour flowerpots.  Only two of your own places will be unlocked at the start and one of the Neighbour plots I believe. At Level 9, you will gain another plot on your side of the garden.  Tools that can be used on flowerpots initially include trowels called 'spades' and trimmers.  These can be used at specific intervals only.  The final plot will unlock when you have Level 30 experience in the Botanic Garden.  One cannot purchase any of the possible upgrades for the Garden, whether in the form of more places for flowerpots or to unlock the 'Glasshouse'.  You only can unlock new options by growing flowers and engaging in other Garden actions.

Other tools apart from the Spade and Trimmer that will be unlocked at higher levels include Insecticide, a UV Light and Music.  Insecticide and UV Light I are unlocked when you have created at least 1 Level 2 Flower.  Music is unlocked when you have created a Level 3 Flower and can be used only on a Level 3 Flower.

Your Garden Level is displayed on a pillar with a five-petal flower or five-point star on top of it.  After planting a second flower and using 1 Trowel/Spade on each of the flowers, my Level remained Level 1 but I had earned 3 out of the 8 points needed to ascend to Level 2.  Each Level upgrade requires more points.

Your Botanic Garden Level has nothing whatsoever to do with your general Experience Level.  You raise it only by tending your Garden.  Initially the Greenhouse when unlocked had a limited number fo plots for your own Friendship Flowers and you had to unlock the remainder by increasing your Level.  When the developers began to issue special sale Friendship Flowers, however, I do believe all farmers were given the total of 5 Greenhouse slots.

This no longer holds true as of February 2016, however.  Although you will have one plot on the Neighbour side of your garden at the start to accept a Friendship Flower from any Neighbour, you will not be able to unlock the Glasshouse until you reach Level 5.  Initially, you will have one slot in the Glasshouse and at Level 7 will gain another.  Levels here refer to Botanic Garden Levels!

There are three little stalls to the right of the Pillar.  The first is the Mystery Shop.  The second is a Flower Book akin to your Fish Book, listing all possible Flowers and your own mastery of them.  The third is a help stall, indicated by a question mark.

Once a flowerpot is placed, tending the flower is time-based.  The time between tendings ALWAY IS RANDOM.  The icon of the Tool that is needed to tend the Flower will appear above the flowerpot and, provided you have the Tool ins question, all that is needed is a tap of a finger.  It appears that the actual Tool that is needed is random, although the UV Light and Insecticide require that you have brought a Level 2 flower to maturity and the Music requires that you have brought a Level 3 flower to maturity.

The Flower Book contains the following:

Ordinary Flower Chapter:
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Venus Flytrap

Viola Tricolour

Chrysanthemum

Epiphyllum

All ordinary Flowers can be purchased from the Shop.  You need to access the Shop regularly to see what is available on any given day at any given time.  Remember that you can refresh the list of Items offered for Coin purchase.

Each Flower has a different growing time and the time that must elapse before another Tool can be used is different in each case.  The Chrysanthemum is one of the slowest-growing flowrs.  The Viola Tricolour appears to be one of the fastest.  You need not grow two of the same type of Flower in order to complete the requirement to grow 2 Level 2 Flowers for the Mission.  Obviously you do not need two of the same type to create a hybrid.  As the Mystery Shop Coin Menu will change each time you refresh, you can choose to wait until the flower you want appears, even when you have an empty space in your garden.

Note that the special Colourful Plumeria although initially available for limited periods only in conjunction with a special Friendship Flower sale now appears to be available at all times.

I always believe that every slot on your own side of the Garden should be filled.  If I would like to purchase a specific flower but it is not for sale, I buy whatever is available and then simply sell it when the flower I want appears.  I lose a few coins but would rather do that than have an empty wasted space.

Super Flower Chapter
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Super Venus Flytrap

Super Viola Tricolour

Super Chrysanthemum

Super Epiphyllum

Super Lily

Super Jagger Lips

Super Flowers are obtained through cross breeding.  There is a low chance of achieving these.

Mega Flower Chapter
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Maga Chrysanthemum

Mega Epiphyllum

Mega Lily

Mega Jagger Lips

Mega Rose

Mega Rafflesia

Mega Venus Flytrap

Mega Viola Tricolour

Mega Flowers are obtained through cross breeding.

Extraordinary Hybrids
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Doughnut Flower

Super Lollipop Flower

Cupcake Flower

Super Doughnut Flower

Super Cupcake Flower

Mega Doughnut Flower

Mega Cupcake Flower

Lollipop Flower

Mega Lollipop Flower

Other Friendship Flowers
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Clam Friendship Flower

Exclusive Friendship Flower

Premium Friendship Flowers
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I have listed these in another section,

These are the 'real' Friendship Flowers that can be placed on another Farmer's Garden.  These flowers are obtained on rare occasions through cross breeding.

The Level 1 Clam Friendship Flower is included in this section of the Book, even though it is not obtained through crossbreeding.

Note that the Clam Friendship Flower is obtained only as a reward for completing and registering a Collection Set for a timed Quest and it, like any Friendship Flower must be placed in a neighbour's garden.

Flower Book and Gallery
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When the Botanic Garden first was released, there was no option to register Flowers in the Gallery, nor indeed to register Crops.  Now you will find that you can register your Crops as well as your Botanic Garden Flowers and Friendship Flowers.  There is a big difference between the Flower Lists in your Flower Book on the Island Botanic Garden and the Botanic Garden Flower section of the Gallery.  In the Gallery, you will find ALL the special sales Friendship Flowers as well as all of the Flowers that are listed in the book.

Premium Friendship Flowers that are listed now in the Botanic Garden Flower Book and can be registered in the Gallery to date are:

Macaron Friendship Flower
Ice Cream Friendship Flower
Fire Chocolate Friendship Flower
Heart Friendship Flower
Coffee Friendship Flower
Cocktail Friendship Flower
Sushi Friendship Flower
Thanksgiving Friendship Flower
Ghost Friendship Flower
Santa Friendship Flower
Ramen Friendship Flower
Easter Bunny Friendship Flower

Rewards for all of these are given in a separate section.

All those listed above are all Friendship Flowers offered periodically in special sales.  When crossbred, they ordinarily do not create a real Friendship Flower but rather offer other special Rewards both to the Owner and to the Neighbour who hosts the Flower and crossbreeds it.  These Rewards often include RC as well as Blue Mystrons.  Only the Macaron Friendship Flower gives special Rewards in the form of Decorations to the Owner after a set number of these are crossbred by hosts.

Colourful Plumeria Flower

Although this Flower originally was 'temporary', it is now a permanent Level 1 Flower that can be purchased in the Coin Market and registered in the Gallery.  It is a fast-growing Flower that can be used to crossbreed with any Friendship Flower.  It can produce a real Friendship Flower when crossbred with a REAL Friendship Flower, including the new Clam Flower.

Lending Friendship Flowers
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At the end of this post, you will find an explanation as to how Friendship Flowers can be 'lent' temporarily to farmers solely for the purpose of Gallery Registration.

Island Botanic Garden Quests
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An Island tutorial Quest will teach farmers about cross-breeding:

Trading Places
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Trading Places I
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Darryl:  I made a bet with Felicia on whose tasks are harder.  Now I have to do all Felicisa's tasks for a day and she'll do mine!  And guess what?  I'll be working in the flowr garden all day!  No way, it's so girly!

Have 2 flowers in the garden
  N.B.  You will begin with one flower.  I was able to purchase a second flower using Coins in the Mystery section of the Market.  The items available in the Mystery section change daily and one can purchase 10 Trimmers for 8000 Coins.

Help 2 flowers with the Spade
  Skip for 3 RC

  N.B.  When you are able to use a 'spade' on a flower, the icon of a trowel will appear above the flower pot.  It really is a trowel and not a spade...

Help 2 flowers with the Trimmer
  Skip for 6 RC

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  That wasn't too hard!  Especially with your help!  I wonder how Felicia has been getting on with my work!

Trading Places II
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Oh dear!  Felicia left me instructions and according to them, I have to crossbreed flowers.  I have no idea on how to do this!  Can you help me, so that Felicia won't laugh at me?

Have 2 matured Level 1 Flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Crossbreed 1 level 1 flower
  Skip for 6 RC

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  Wow!  Did you see that?  Look, we've got a special flower!

N.B.  The Chrysanthemum takes far longer to mature than the Epiphyllum.  When my first Chrysanthemum finally matured, I had been continuing to feed the Epiphyllum for a day or so at least.  Cross-breeding the two resulted in a Super Chrysanthemum in this case.

Trading Places III
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DarryL;  Oh!  I think I can even win the bet you know!  All we need to do is take care of these little flowers when they need something!  Look, I'll show you!

Have 2 Level 2 Flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Help 2 Flowers with the insecticide
  Skip for 6 RC

Help 2 flowers with the UV Light
  Skip for 6 RC

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  These garden flowers are so delicate.  I was scared about hurting them when I used the garden tools!

Trading Places IIV
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Darryl:  Remember the flowers which you helped me crossbreed for the first time?  We need to find another flower to crossbreed with this one!   I still need to learn how to do this!  Please help me one more time!

Have 2 matured level 2 flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Crossbreed 2 level 2 flowers
   Skip for 6 RC

Rewards: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  Yes, ow we have one more resident for our garden!  Grow, little guy!  Become big and beautiful!

Received a Mega Epiphyllum by crossbreeding a Super Epiphyllum and Super Chrysanthemum incidentally.


Trading Places V
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Darryl:  I was planning to run to  the fishing pier with my friends for a few hours, but these flowers need constant attention!  I give Felicia credit, this juob isn't as easy as I thought it would be!  But I still want to win the bet!

Have 2 Level 3 Flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Help 2 Flowers with Music
  Skip for 6 RC
  Note that you will need a Level 3 Flower in order to be able to use Music.

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  Nice!  All flowers have had their fair share of my attention!  Now I have some free time!

Trading Places VI
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Darryl:  We have enough flowers in our garden!  Time for some experiments!  I will corssbreed flowers and try to get a totally new type of flower!  Felicia will be stunned!

Have 2 Matured level 3 flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Crossbreed 2 Level 3 flowers
  Skip for 6 RC

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  It's so peaceful here in this garden!  No wonder Felicia spends hours here!

Trading Places VII
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Darryl:  I need to free up some space in the garden.  Can you help me decide which one I should sell?  I am so attached to them now that I won't be able to make a choice!

Sell 1 Matured Flower
  Skip for 6 RC

Reward: 1500 Coins, 250 XP, 15 Dev Points

Darryl:  Thank you for your help!  Now we have more space and more coins! Gardening sure is an awesome thing!

Last quest in sequence.

Mystery Shop
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The new Mystery Shop offers the opportunity to buy new Flowers for the Garden, more implements for the Garden, as well as items from both the original Seaside Farm and the Island Farm, provided always that you have unlocked the Island and the Garden.  If not, you will not see the Items from the Garden or the Island Items.   On my second farm initially, I had unlocked the Island but not made the expansion that allowed the Garden to appear.  I therefore saw only regular Island Items and Seaside Items in the Mystery Shop.  Note, however, that Crops and products you may not have unlocked yet WILL appear in the Mystery Shop from time to time, as well as a multitude of Sea creatures.  For players like me who dislike the fishing option, it is great to be able to buy seafood supplies in the shop now.

The Mystery Shop moreover, in terms of the new Coin option is on a timer that allows the player to refresh up to four times, depending on the amount of time that has passed.

Be advised that you can have only a limit of 99 tools of any kind for the Garden.  When you have 99 Spades, you cannot purchase more until you have used some of them.

Seeds for flowers cannot be stored.  If you do not have a spot to plant the seed, you cannot purchase it.

Greeenhouse/Glasshouse
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The Glasshouse is where your own Friendship Flowers are located, both the real Friendship Flowers and those that you have purchased in a special sale.  You can keep purchased Friendship Flowers in your Gift Box, however, if you wish to keep a slot or two open for a real Freindship Flower.

When  a Friendship Flower has been created in your garden, it immediately will go into the Greenhouse. You then need to open the Greenhouse to tap on the flower in order to find a Neighbour to tend it.  When you have chosen the Neighbour, you then need to visit his/her Island farm to place your flower on an empty Neighbour Plot by tapping on the plot.

There is a new option in Seaside that allows you to place a special welcome pink or red ribbon round your Neighbour plots to let your Neighbours know that you would welcome Friendship Flowers.  Although most farmers do welcome the chance to tend them, there are farmers who would rather not have the burden of what can be considerable labour, especially if the flower is Level 2.  Thus the new option.

If you find that your Neighbour is not tending your Flower, you should be able to take it back and place it on another farm.  If you do this, however, all growth progress will be lost to the flower.  It is not a step to be taken hastily.  Some farmers have more access to the internet and the game than others.  It may not be neglect but lack of access that makes one farmer slower to grow your Flowers than another.

More about Friendship Flowers
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As discussed previously, the Botanic Garden is on the Island and is tied to one of the Island expansions.  It has begun to feature in the time-restricted Missions so if you have access to the Island but have not made that particular expansion, you may wish to do so.

For players who cannot FIND the garden, you will not see it until you unlock the 5th expansion I believe... it then is unlocked automatically, the same way the Helicopter port is unlocked automatically.  The requirements for completing that expansion are given at the beginning of this post.

Ordinary Flowers
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There are three different types of flowers basically.  There are the ordinary Flowers that you buy in the Mystery Shop, grow on your side of the Botanic Garden and then crossbreed with another mature Flower os the same Level after it has grown to maturity itself.  These flowers all can be found in your Flower Book in the first three categories or chapters.

Real Friendship Flowers
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The second type of Flower is what call the real Friendship Flower.  All types appear in your Book in the final chapter for Friendship Flowers.  They can be produced only through crossbreeding and are a random result.  Usually, you will find that a Level 3 Flower crossbred with another Level 3 Flower is the one most likely to produce a Friendship Flower although it can occur with two Level 2 Flowers as well.  The Friendship Flower you obtain in this situation would be a level 1 Flower.

It is when a real Friendship Flower is sent to a Neighbour, brought to maturity and crossbred that you may receive a level 2 Friendship Flower.  Again, this is a random result.  Too many times, you will tend to the Friendship Flower a neighbour has entrusted to you only to obtain an ordinary Flower when you finally are able to crossbreed it.

'Ordinary' however does not mean that you could purchase this flower yourself in any Market. Among the 'Ordinary' Flowers that can be created by crossbreeding are the Jagger Lips, the Rose and the Rafflesia.

Clam Friendship Flower
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The Clam Friendship Flower is a REAL Friendship Flower now given as a reward for completing any timed mission's Collection Set within the period before it expires (or within a few hours of expiration!).  Even if you have not unlocked the Botanic Garden yet, you WILL receive a Clam Friendship Flower if you complete the Collection Set in time.  It will go into your Gift Box and can be used later.

Even if you have unlocked the Botanic Garden, you need to have reached Level 6 in the Garden before you will unlock the first slot in your Glasshouse/Greenhouse.  You then can transfer any Clam Friendship Flower you have earned from your Gift Box to the Glasshouse and from there, place it on any neighbour's farm provided that neighbour has space for it.  There is no time limit to placing Friendship Flowers.

Note that you now can completed timed missions that have expired from the Lighthouse but you cannot earn the Clam Friendship Flower once the original time period given for the initial registration of the Collection Set expires.  You still will be able to register the Collection Set for the ordinary rewards of 1 RC and 88 Green Mystrons but the Clam Friendship Flower will not be included any longer.

Special Sale Friendship Flowers
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Finally, there is the type of Friendship Flower that you obtain through purchase in a sale.  These, as of July 2019, have been of a number of different varieties, including the Ice Cream Flower and the Macaron Flower, the Fire Chocolate Flower, the Snowflake Friendship Flower, the Coffee Friendship Flower,  the Cocktail Friendship Flower and the Sushi Friendship Flower. The Ice Cream Flower gives higher RC when crossbred than the Macaron but the Macaron has two separate Decorations associated with it.  When you have opened your 8th Gift Bag from a Macaron Flower, you receive the Spoon Shovel Decoration.  When you open the 10th, you receive the Macaron Flower Decoration.  Both can be registered in the Gallery and give Blue Gift Boxes when cleaned.

The new Sushi Friendship Flower gives Wasabi and Soy Sauce as well as RC when crossbred.

Note that the Coffee Friendship Flower gives Pet Cards as rewards both to the host and the neighbour who grows the flower to maturity and crossbreeds it.

I have listed the rewards given for each in a separate section of this post now.

The Friendship Flowers that appear in sales are included in your Flower Book and can be registered.  However, no one I know ever received a Friendship Flower from crossbreeding one.  The real purpose of these is to share RC with a friend and to earn XP towards the upgrade of your Botanic Garden.  You can register them in the Gallery, however, with ALL Botanic Garden Flowers.

Now, Botanic Garden Flowers can be registered in the Gallery in a separate department and all of the special sales Friendship Flowers are included.


Colourful Plumeria
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Note that the Colourful Plumeria is tied to this type of Friendship Flower.  Originally, it only appeared in the Mystery Shop when the sales were running and were designed for use with  them.  Now they are found all the time.  I believe they became permanent because of the new Clam Friendship Flower that is a reward for completing the Collection Set associated with any timed Mission..  The purpose of this type is speed... it matures faster even than the Epiphyllum or Tricolour Violet.  It appears to be related to both of these actually as the flowers you receive when you crossbreed the Plumeria tend to be one or the other of these or a Super Lily often which is related to these as well, although it may be entirely random.  Originally, one could not receive a REAL Friendship Flower when crossbreeding any flower with the Colourful Plumeria. This has changed.

How to Crossbreed a Friendship Flower
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Any Friendship Flower, whether it is a 'real' Friendship Flower or a 'sale' Friendship Flower will be located on the left side of the Botanic Garden.  There is a total of four plots on the left side of the Garden.  You cannot place a Flower there or use the space for crossbreeding.  ONLY A NEIGHBOUR CAN PLACE A FLOWER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE GARDEN.

There is a fairly new option for the left side of the garden where you can place a little pink fence to indicate your willingness to accept and grow Friendship Flowers.  Tap on the individual plot to place the little ribbon fence and you will see the option either to place it or to let your Neighbours know that you do NOT want any Friendship Flowers.  You must do this for each of the four plots separately.  These ribbon fences do expire.  When one expires, you will receive a notification.  Simply place a new one...

You tend Friendship Flowers in the same way that you tend your own Flowers located on the right side of the Garden.  The time between tendings is random, although Level 2 and Level 3 Flowers obviously take longer to mature and may have longer time spans between tending.  The sale Friendship Flowers can be tended more frequently than any other flowers.  As they usually carry special rewards in the form of RC and even on occasion a special Decoration, this allows these Rewards to be earned more quickly.

When any Flower, either on your side of the Garden or the Neighbour side of the Garden matures, you will see a message to that effect.  Once any Flower matures, you can crossbreed it.  It is essential to do so where the flowers on the left side of the Garden are concerned, because their placement is an act of trust on the part of your Neighbour.  If you fail to crossbreed a mature Flower on the left side of the Garden, the Neighbour who sent it has every right to take it back and foster it again elsewhere.

In order to crossbreed ANY Flower, you msut have a Mature Flower of the same Level.  If the Flower is on the left side of the garden, you will need a mature Flower on the right side of the Garden in order to be able to crossbreed.

Sale Friendship Flowers
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Sale Friendship Flowers tend to carry RC rewards with them but NEITHER YOU NOR THE ORIGINAL OWNER CAN RECEIVE THE REWARD UNTIL THE FLOWER IS CROSSBRED!  When any neighbour sends you a special sale Friendship Flower such as the Ice Cream Friendship Flower, the Fire Chocolate Friendship Flower or the new Heart Friendship Flower, you need first to tend it until it reaches maturity and then crossbreed it with one of your Level 1 Flowers in order to give the original owner the Reward and obtain the Reward yourself.  If you leave it in your garden after maturity, it will not benefit either one of you.

You need to crossbreed real Friendship Flowers as well once they reach maturity as this is the reason the Neighbour entrusted the Flower to you whether or not it becomes another real Friendship Flower that you can send back to the original owner or becomes a different flower that cannot be returned.  

Flower Levels
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I am adding this section because many farmers are confused by the nature of the Botanic Garden Flowers in terms of their levels.  A flower that you place ALWAYS will remain the same level and, unless a neighbour places a higher level of Flower on the left side of the Garden for you to crossbreed, ALL the Flowers that you place will be Level 1 Flowers.  Level 1 Flowers are ALL the flowers that you can purchase in the Coin Mystery Shop.  They include the Colourful Plumeria, which is not included in the Flower Book.  You can keep a Level 1 Flower on a plat forever, tending it whenever the tool icon pops up, even after it matures.  It never will change level, however!

There are Level 1 Friendship Flowers but they are the result of crossbreeding and are listed in the Neighbour section of the Book, to wit, the Cupcake Flower, the Lollipop Flower and the Doughnut Flower.  Although they are Level 1 Flowers, you cannot purchase them and only can obtain them through crossbreeding.  When you do obtain one, you will be unable to place it in your own garden, but must take it from the Glasshouse/Greenhouse to place it on a Neighbour's Farms.

You cannot crossbreed flowers of different levels.  You CAN crossbreed a Level 1 flower on the Neighbour side of your Garden with a Level 1 Flower on YOUR side of the garden and thus, can crossbreed a Level 1 Friendship Flower with a Level 1 ordinary flower.  Indeed, you cannot crossbreed two Level 1 Friendship Flowers because you never will have one on your side of the garden.

If you have two Level 2 Flowers, you can crossbreed them whether or not both are on your side of the garden or one of them is a Level 2 Friendship Flower on the Neighbour side of the garden.  Similarly, two Level 3 Flowers can be crossbred and they can produce another Level 3 Flower OR a Level 1 Friendship Flower, oddly enough!

Directions for Crossbreeding
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When any Flower on the left side of the Garden matures, you need to use the Move Tool to drag it to a Mature Flower of the same Level on the right side of the Garden.  Place it on top of the Mature Flower on the right side of the Garden and you will see the option to Crossbreed.  It only takes a moment to crossbreed any flower.  When complete, the result will depend on the type of flowers that were crossbred as follows:

If both flowers are on your side of the Garden, YOU will create a new Flower.  It could be a regular flower of a higher level, a special Flower of a higher Level or a real Friendship Flower.  By crossbreeding two flowers on your side of the Garden, you will free a plot there.  The new flower will go on one of the plots but the other will become vacant.

If one flower is on the left side of the Garden, you need to take it to the right side of the Garden to crossbreed.  The results will depend on the type of Flower sent by your Neighbour.

If your Neighbour sent you a 'real' Friendship Flower, the results will be one of the following:

A regular Flower of a higher Level
A special Flower
Another 'real' Friendship Flower

If your Neighbour sent you a 'sale' Friendship Flower, the results will be one of the following:

A regular Flower of a higher level
A special Flower

Random Results
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I remember when the fishing option first was released in Seaside.  We logged all the results of the position in which the bait was cast to try to discern the nature of the catch.  Utterly useless: results are random.  I firmly believe it is the same for the Botanic Garden.  We could log our results until the proverbial cows come home and still not have any way to make certain that we obtain specific flowers in crossbreeding.  I do hope that the developers will modify the incidence of obtaining the Level 2 Friendship Flowers when Level 1 Friendship Flowers such as the Cupcake Flower, Doughnut Flower and Lollipop Flowers are crossbred.  Even more time and energy goes into the tending of the level 2 Friendship Flowers and when one ultimately obtains only a common Flower after crossbreeding one, it is too depressing for words.  Not to mention how upset I am not to be able to send a rare Friendship Flower back to its owner after crossbreeding finally occurs.  I really think that this aspect of the game needs to be changed in our favour.

There are different probabilities, however.  Apart from the possible result of a Friendship Flwoer when two ordinary Flowers are crossbred, there is a possibility of obtaining a flower tyat is rare.  The rare types are the Jagger Lips, the Lily, the Rafflesia and the Rose.

In my own experience, the Lily appears to be associated with the Epiphyllum and Viola Tricolour while the Jagger Lips appears to be associated with the Venus Flytrip and possibly the Chrysanthemum.  I personally believe that although all the rare types are described as having a 'rare chance' of appearing in the Flower Book, it is the Rafflesia and the Rose that are the rarest of all.  No one I know ever has obtained one so far...

Here I am descending to the realm of pure speculation.  Is it possible that one only can obtain the Rafflesia or the Rose by crossbreeding two OTHER rare flowers such as the Jagger Lips and the Lily?  Time will tell...

It is possible that the appearance of the Rafflesia and Rose, although random, may be more likely if you are at the highest level of Experience in the Botanic Garden.  On the other hand, the Jagger Lips was a result on my lower level Rosewood Farm long before Freyashawk obtained it on the higher level Harvest Moon Farm.  The Botanical Garden is at a higher level there, in other words, than Rosewood's Botanical Garden.  So perhaps it is entirely random after all.

A little note here about the nature of the Rafflesia.  It is famous in the Animal Crossing series of games as a terrible weed that occurs if you neglect your village shamelessly and fail to pull your regular weeds... In the Rune Factory series, it is a 'boss' monster you must defeat.   In Seaside, it is a rare flower.

I have used the basic designation for the rare flowers rather than using the Level names.  In other words, there are Super Lilies and Mega Lilies, Super Jagger Lips and Mega Jagger Lips...

Finally, your ability to send Friendship Flowers out to Foster Care depends partly on your experience Level in the Botanic Garden.  Initially it began with two slots but when they released the sales with the Macaron Friendship Flower, they expanded the number of slots even for low level Botanic Farmers to four.  When you purchase a Sale flower, you can keep it in your Gift Box until needed.  I recommend this actually as I had a situation where a real Friendship Flower from a neighbour matured but I did not have any free slots in my Glasshouse.  I was uncertain if this would affect my chances to produce a Level 2 Friendship Flower as it would have nowhere to go.  I therefore had to wait until one of my existing Friendship Flowers on Neighbours' Garden plots matured in order to clear a space in the Greenhouse for the hypothetical Friendship Flower.

There is a question here as well.  Where should you send your Friendship flowers for foster care?  Well, there is a little reciprocal rule that is unofficial.  Where sale flowers are concerned, when some one sends one to you, it is good manners to send one to that farmer if you have any.  Where real Friendship Flowers are concerned, should you be fortunate enough to breed a Level 2 type, you really ought to send it back to the farmer who sent it to you for fostering in the first place.

Although there are many farmers who request Friendship Flowers, there are others who do not bother much with the garden.   The speed with which a flower matures depends partly upon the frequency with which you tend it.  I have a post in my Family Farm Seaside Freyashawk Group where farmers can post their Friendship flower requests and status.  Remember that any Friendship Flower has to be crossbred with a normal Flower when it matures, so keeping Level 1 mature flowers in the Garden is one factor that makes some farmers more desirable 'foster parents' than others.

Note that, if you feel that a farmer is not tending the Friendship Flower you placed in his/her garden, there is an option to take it back and re-foster it somewhere else.   Any progress made in its growth will be lost of course if you do so but if you see that the farmer truly is inactive, it is good to know that you can rescue your flower from oblivion.

Level 3 Crossbreeding
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The results for crossbreeding two Level 1 Flowers always consist of a Level 2 Flower.  The results for crossbreeding two Level 2 Flowers I believe always result in a Level 3 Flower but the results of crossbreeding a Level 3 Flower are totally random both in terms of Level and the flower you receive.  I have crossbred two Level 3 flowers and received a Level 1 Friendship Flower, a Level 2 Special Flower, Level 2 Super Flower or another Level 3 Flower!

Garden Strategies
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It is your Farm, your Island and your Botanic Garden.  How you choose to allocate your resources there is your business, but there are a couple of consideration that may or may not make a difference. First of all, there is a Quest sequence that is associated with the Botanic Garden.  Quest sequences on the Island give Dev Points and these are critical if you wish to have access to all options, including the Pizza Machine.

You do have a limited number of plots in your Garden and a limited number of slots in your Glasshouse.  You will reach a point ultimately where you may be forced to make some difficult choices.  Do you opt for the Friendship Flower strategy by keeping as many mature Level 1 Flowers in your Garden as possible or do you concentrate on your own Flower Book and the business of raising Level 2 and then Level 3 Flowers.  With the sales, I found that I was selling every Level 2 Flower that was obtained through crossbreeding instantly without tending it at all, thereby losing potential income and the ability to add another result to my book in the interest of replacing it with another Level 1 Flower for potential crossbreeding with a Macaron Flower from a Neighbour.  That was the choice I made but other players may make a very different decision.

Level 1 Flowers are the quickest to mature and each type has a different growth rate.  Level 2 Flowers take longer but the slowest are the Level 3 Flowers.  As you increase your Garden experience level, you will unlock new plots but it takes time.    The Botanic Garden really is a cosmic lesson in patience.

Registration of Crops and Flowers
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A recent update allows the registration both of ordinary Crops and all Friendship Flowers in your Gallery.  As with any Gallery Registration, the Rewards vary according to the item that is registered.

In order to register a Friendship Flower, it must be ON THE GROUND in your Botanic Garden.  In other words, the Friendship Flowers that you own originally and are in your own Gift Box or Glasshouse cannot be registered.

Because of this, our group began the practice of 'borrowing' and 'lending' Friendship Flowers to other farmers solely for the purpose of Gallery Registration.  Ordinarily, a Friendship Flower would be removed from your Garden before it matured only if you neglected to tend it for a long period of time.  Now we have threads in our groups that offer to 'lend' specific Friendship Flowers to farmers who need them for registration.  This lending is done on the understanding that the flower will be removed shortly after delivery and lent to some one else.

List of Premium Friendship Flowers and their Rewards
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I should have logged these long ago, but failed to do it, with all the new updates and quests.  Please note that the older Friendship Flowers gave far better rewards to the purchaser (owner) than to the farmer who received and crossbred.  Some of the newer ones give equal rewards to both parties.

Here is a list of the premium Friendship Flowers with the Rewards you receive when they are crossbred.

Macaron Flower Package: For owner, bag contains 2200 coins 1 OP, 1 Power, 1 yellow mystron, 1 electric saw, 1 Macaron path, 3 RC .  (I believe the farmer who crossbred it receives only 2 RC.  This is the oldest of the premium Friendship Flowers.)

Easter Bunny Friendship Flower Package: 8 RC, 10 Yellow Mystrons, 5 Chocolate

Santa Friendship Flower Package: 8 RC, 1 Mystron Package (contains 5 of each type of Mystron)

Snowflake Friendship Flower Package; 8 RC, 20 Blue Mystrons

Thanksgiving Friendship Flower Package: 8 RC, 1 Mystron Package (contains 5 of each type of Mystron)

Exclusive Friendship Flower Package: 300 TC, 10 Power

Ramen Friendship Flower Package: 6 RC, 10 Yellow Mystrons, 5 Soft Dough

Ghost Friendship Flower Package:  8 RC, 1 Mystron Package (contains 5 of each type of Mystron)

Coffee Friendship Flower Package: 5 RC, 2 Lab Cards, 2 Cat Cards, 2 Turtle Cards

Sushi Friendship Flower Package: 6 RC, 20 Wasabi, 20 Soy Sauce

Heart Friendship Flower Package: 6 RC, 10 Blue Mystrons

Other Friendship Flowers:
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Clam Flower Package: 7500 Coins, 3 Organic Fertiliser

Lollipop Flower Package: 7200 Coins, 2 Watering Cans, 2 OP
Doughnut Flower Package: 6500 Coins, 1 Organic Fertiliser, 3 OP, 2 Green Mystrons
Cupcake Flower Package: 7500 Coins, 4 Organic Fertiliser

Super Doughtnut Flower Package: 20000 Coins, 2 Super Watering Cans, 5 OP, 8 Green Mystrons
Super Lollipop Package: 27500 Coins, 3 Super Fertiliser, 12 OP, 5 Green Mystrons
Super Cupcake Package: 28000 Coins, 6 Super Fertiliser, 6 Super Watering Cans, 20 OP

Mega Cupcake Flower Package: 92000 Coins, 3 Super Fertiliser, 8 OP
Mega Doughnut Flower Package: 92000 Coins, 3 Super Fertiliser, 5 Super Watering Cans, 16 OP