A Guide to Magnificent Flowerbeds: Dos and Don'ts

Imagine the following: you have just bought a Neohome and you can’t wait to start decorating your garden. You go out and shop till you drop for every flower possible, and when you return you place them randomly in your garden. “Oh how nice!” you think. Yes, nice indeed, for a few moments. Because very soon you’ll wish you never started your flower garden. While some flowers grow normally, others wither or get sick or even worse, they get eaten by other flowers.

How can you avoid such flower tragedies? The answer is simple: read this guide. I will give you useful tips about the most troublesome flowers in Neopia, where to plant them and what to avoid so you can give them a long and colourful life. It will prevent you from making foolish decisions when it comes to decorating flowerbeds. Read this guide and you’ll soon be able to boast about your gorgeous flower garden to your friends.

What are the most troublesome flowers and how should you take care of them? The following list sums them up and gives you tips on how to look after them:

Black Roses:

What are they? One of the most beautiful flowers in Neopia must be the Black Roses. These extraordinary flowers are rare but they make every flowerbed into a piece of art. Their colour, however, makes them very vulnerable to sunlight. Even a few seconds in the sun can kill them.

How to maintain them: Make sure you place the Black Roses in a part of the garden where there is shadow all day. If you don’t have such a place, create one by planting a large tree that protects the black roses from the sun. (I suggest a Dwarf Tree because of their huge crown)

Daffodils:

What are they? Daffodils come in various colours, and not all of them are considered to be a problem. Only the variants Electric, Savage and Rude are to be handled carefully. This should however not be a reason to exclude them from your garden. If these flowers are treated adequately, they will give you much joy, because they live long and blossom almost all year long.

How to maintain them: The three variants mentioned above all require their own private flowerbed. Make sure you NEVER place the Electric Daffodils near water. They will not only electrocute all your water plants, they will also electrocute themselves. The Savage Daffodil should be placed far away from any other flower including their own brothers and sisters. If you do not place them far apart they will simply bite each other to death. Finally, the Rude Daffodil does not always need its own flowerbed; it depends on what flowers you want to place next to them. For instance: Drabby Roses, Dreary Lilies or Gloomacinths will fade very quickly next to a Rude Daffodil as they already have a low self-esteem. Other flowers that should be avoided are Song Flowers and Bleeding Hearts.

Drabby Rose:

What are they? These grey and pink flowers are very useful if you want to create a nostalgic and pessimistic look in your garden.

How to maintain them? When you buy Drabby Roses, make sure they look sad but not miserable. It’s important to talk to these flowers every day for about 15 minutes to make them feel better about themselves. If you do not do this, they will wilt very quickly. If you’re going away for a couple of days, make sure you ask one of your friends to come talk to these flowers every day for at least 10 minutes.

As mentioned before, NEVER put these flowers too close to Rude Daffodils, as Drabby Roses are very sensitive.

(The same goes for Gloomacinths and Dreary Lilies!)

Exploding Pod Plant:

What are they? EPPs (so called by experts) were originally an experiment to grow a flower that can be used as a bomb. The experiment didn’t succeed but collectors of rare flowers kept growing them. These plants are great decorations if you want a lively garden. They blossom from June to October, when they release their seeds by suddenly making their flowers explode (hence the name).

How to maintain them? Because of their exploding flowers, it is best to keep these flowers away from your windows. Place them on a higher level than your other plants (put them in a pot on a table for instance) because the flowers are very hard and splinters will fly everywhere when it explodes. Don’t ever touch the flowers in Autumn, because the slightest commotion can trigger the explosion.

Snake Rose:

What are they? Although they are called roses, they are actually not. These flowers originate from the swamps in the Haunted Woods, where they feed on insects and small birds. With their long tentacle (the “snake”) they can snatch flying birds from the air but also pick resting insects from the ground. If you’re having a lot of annoying insects near your pond, these Snake Roses are the answer. They will keep your pond-area guaranteed bug-free.

How to maintain them: As these flowers are swamp plants, you should plant them on muddy, swamp-like soil. At the bank of your pond is a good place. Make sure these plants have enough to eat all year round. If there is not enough food they will attack your other plants and even your fish. You can see when they are hungry when they’re wagging their “snake.”

I suggest you give these plants a handful of insects every day no matter whether they are hungry or not. This will make them very satisfied and keep them from attacking the rest of your garden.

Song Flowers:

What are they? Song flowers are big, yellow, happy flowers that sing all year long when the sun shines, a different song every season. Nevertheless, there are few things to keep in mind when you want these in your garden. Many people buy these flowers because they are very original, but regret the decision afterwards.

How to maintain them: Take my advice and place these flowers at the end of your garden. A song every now and then is nice, but hearing the same songs over and over again will drive you mad. If you place them at the end of your garden, you can always visit them if you feel like singing.

These flowers are said to be completely self reliant. However, this is NOT true. These flowers need just as much care and attention as any other. If you ignore them too long, they will never ever sing again and their offspring will never sing either. Visiting them every day and singing along with them will keep them happy and singing. Make sure they have enough sunshine and that there are no Rude Daffodils nearby. (They make fun of the Song Flowers, causing them to sing only very sad songs and possibly to wither in a few days.)

Here are some more tips for other, slightly less troublesome flowers:

Rowzez and Cyclamen:

Cut these flowers EVERY year, because they grow very fast. If you have missed one year, they will have overgrown your garden the next.

Snap Draiks:

Make sure you put the other plants out of their range. Although they do not snap at their own kind, they will snap at other flowers. If you do not treat them well, they will even snap at your fingers.

Wocky Glove:

Never touch the flowers of the Wocky Glove! They are extremely poisonous. If you have young Neopets running around in your garden, it is best to remove all the Wocky gloves to prevent serious accidents. If you do happen to touch a flower, go to the hospital immediately. Signs of poisoning are: having a hard time breathing, losing eyesight, producing extreme amounts of saliva.

Zobamints:

These flowers can be used in tea, but only in VERY small amounts. If you use too much of them, you can get severe stomachaches.

Kau Slips:

They spread a delicate honey-like scent, but that also attracts many insects. Place them close enough to your Snake Roses, as they will eat most of the insects that are attracted by the Kau Slips. This way you can enjoy your garden and your Kau Slips without having swarms of insects bugging you.

Chick-a-Daisy:

Always plant them in pairs, otherwise they become lonely. If you can match two plants that are really fond of each other, they will grow flowers in all the colours of the rainbow. However, this is very rare, and most of the time Chick-a-Daisies don’t ever grow any flowers at all.

If you have read all this, and you keep all these tips and tricks in mind, you won’t ever have to experience the nightmares some other, less well-informed gardeners have to go through.

Now go out and take care of those plants! And remember: the golden rule for a magnificent garden still is: “Treat your plants with love and respect and they will reward you with a summer full of flowers, scents and beauty!”