Gardening for the New Gardener by rayinte |  |
After what feels like forever, the Neopian Gardens have finally arrived. Avid
plant fanatics have eagerly been awaiting the Gardens since the Garden Shop
first opened, collecting seedlings, saplings, and potted plants to plop in their
gardens as soon as they became available.
If my youngest pet is any example, most new gardeners don't put much thought
into their gardens. They just take all of their plants and scatter them in a
jumble, leaving the garden a wild jungle of random color and texture. If there's
any order to the riot, it's that the "pretty" plants are going to be closest
to the front. Sometimes plants of different varities which have similar colors
or shapes are placed in a garden, making the entire patch seem rather uninspired.
I've attempted to look at other Neopian Gardens over the past few days, and
have seen very little evidence of planning beyond basic "themes" like "Plants
with Teeth" and "Roses." Things will likely settle down over the next few weeks,
as Gardeners dig up their plants and spread them out across several patches
of dirt.
Most Gardeners have noticed by now that you can turn your plants. Unfortunately,
this does not mean that you can flip your Sponderola so that it actually faces
upwards, but being able to flip plants allows for greater symmetry in your garden.
As for Sponderolas, these troublesome lilies look good peeking out from beneath
a larger plant.
Some plants, like the Spiky Bush, get very large the closer you bring them
to the front of the screen. Others, like the Meepie Tree, stay fairly small.
This can give an added effect to your garden, but remember that large plants
in the front will often block smaller plants towards the back.
Grouping small plants together in tight clusters will give the appearance
of "beds," with clear pathways between them. If garden gravel or path stones
ever become available, these can be used to make the pathways even more distinct
from the ground, so that an unwary visitor is less likely to squash your seedlings.
Be sure to keep your groupings small. If you can't reach a plant in the middle
of the patch from the path, then you can't weed there, you can't prune the plant
if it gets too large, and you may have trouble removing the plant if you decide
to move it later!
Usually, gardens have some sort of "centerpiece." In modern gardens, these
are often ornate birdbaths, reflective spheres, ponds, or small gazebos. In
Neopia, an equivalent of a garden centerpiece can easily be a Gnome, a Bench,
or any large distinctive plant. I'm rather fond of the Heart Fruit and the Rock
Trees, but almost any tree could be suitable. A ring of smaller, unobtrusive
plants around the Centerpiece sets it off from the path, with the rest of the
plants ranged around the perimeter of the garden.
Unless you've filled your Neohome's ground level already, you should have
plenty of room to build several gardens. You can come up with a "theme" for
each garden-like an "Orchard" full of trees, a basic flower garden, a vegetable
garden, maybe something else entirely. Or you can try for an overall scheme
for all of your gardens.
I need to head out now. The Garden Shop might be restocking soon, and I need
a lot of Spiky Bushes for my Lupe's hedge maze... hopefully the Shopkeeper won't
shout at me again! |
