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While it’s not the central focus of Lonesome Village, the new indie darling about rescuing a town from a cult through the power of friendship, you will find yourself spending a good amount of on the game’s gardening mechanic.

RELATED: Lonesome Village: Beginner's Tips

It’s definitely more straightforward than other games of its ilk, but the garden in Lonesome Village still takes some getting used to. You’re able to grow anything from flowers to fruit, all of which will be helpful in growing closer to the villagers. For a full breakdown of the game’s gardening, from being able to garden to growing a field, you’ve come to the right place.

Unlocking The Garden

lonesome village mindy lou introducing herself to ken after her rescue

The area that will soon be your future garden can be seen in the very beginning of the game if you’re exploring the West Village. Though there’s not much going on when you first launch Lonesome Village, you do see the garden there, right beside a shop with a bouquet on it, which is closed when you first find it.

To unlock the ability to garden, you’ll first have to save the villager from the Tower who used to run the garden shop. You’re looking for a German Shepard on Floor 14 of the Tower, named Mindy Lou Hoo. When you save Mindy Lou from her entrapment, she thanks you profusely and tells you she runs the garden shop, and that you should come and find her when you can.

The next time you leave the tower, head over to the West Village, right by your new house. Mindy Lou’s shop is thankfully right next door, so you won’t need to go far to start your garden.

As with other shopkeepers in Lonesome Village, Mindy Lou’s friendship is increased by spending money in her shop. Like the other townsfolk, you’ll know you’ve maxed her friendship when you receive a Polaroid of her and Wes together.

How To Garden

ken meeting mindy lou outside her gardening shop for the first time in lonesome village

The first time you go see Mindy Lou at her store, she'll give you a tutorial on how to use her garden. Though inarguably a simple mechanic, the gardening in Lonesome Village is a bit time-consuming.

For each thing you need to plant, the process is the same.

  • Purchase seeds from Mindy Lou’s shop.
  • Using your shovel, dig a hole someplace in the garden.
  • Go into your backpack and select the seed you’d like to plant.
  • When you’re holding the seed, click the hole again to plant it.
  • After the seed is planted, use the watering can to give it some water.

And with each of these steps coming bundled with a short cutscene, gardening can take up a big chunk of time. Thankfully, there’s not much consequence for the passage of time, especially with gardening. The plants all have a growth cycle that ticks forward after a set number of time segments pass, and with enough gold and patience, you truly can grow everything.

Wes has access to 192 gardening plots, 48 in each pre-plowed rectangle. It doesn’t matter where you plant things, and you won’t likely need to completely fill the garden, but it’s nice to have the availability. It enables you to separate plants to your heart’s content and use whatever system is best for you.

assorted orchids roses and tulips from lonesome garden rainbow

One important thing to note is that there are flowers that grow in several colors: tulips, roses, and orchids. They come in white, yellow, red, and variants of pink. Unfortunately for Ken, which color grows when you plant a seed seems to be random.

This will become frustrating when a villager asks for so many of a flower as one of their heart quests. While they don’t care what color the flower they’ve requested actually is, each flower will need to be the same color.

This leads to you growing quite a number of these flowers, but keep in mind that other villagers may ask for a few of the same flower later on. It won’t hurt to keep a few extras in your chest. They do sell for a good amount of money, but for how long it takes to grow new flowers and the time involved in planting each one, we found it best to hold onto them and make our money another way.

Buy And Sell Price For Plants

ken talking to mindy lou about flowers in her store lonesome village

With so many things for sale at Mindy Lou's, there's a lot for you to keep straight if you've got a green thumb. Below, you'll find a full list of plantable resources in Lonesome VIllage.

Plant

Seed Cost (from Mindy Lou)

Sale Price (to California)

Strawberry

1g

3g

Apple

3g

3g

Carrot

3g

5g

Banana

3g

5g

Orange

5g

8g

Fig??

8g

10g

Pomegranate

10g

20g

Lily

8g

10g

Sunflower

15g

20g

Orchid

20g

30g

Bamboo

20g

25g

Succulent

25g

40g

Caladium

8g

15g

Rose

25g

45g

Tulip

25g

50g

California will purchase any of these items. With each crop taking a bit to plant and grow, there are easier ways to earn gold, but selling plants you bought by accident or maybe over-prepared for is still a solid option.

Finally, the apples and carrots you can plant are the same as the ones you can find. Apples are available from shaking trees in the forest or village, while carrots are often found in the dig spots on which you can use your shovel. You're paying for the convenience of not having to run around looking for them, but they are available for free in the world if you collect them along the way.

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