The plants

The plants are the heart of Friend Garden, so this page is about them: the eight kinds, how they grow, and exactly when they get thirsty. It's mostly a reference page, so there are tables.

Eight kinds

Fern, tulip, sunflower, pothos, lavender, cactus, olive tree and wildflowers. They're drawn by the app itself, in code, with a painted texture and slightly wobbly edges so they look hand-made. Each friend's plant has its own shape, which means two ferns in the same garden aren't twins, and a plant keeps its shape from one day to the next. It only changes when it grows or when it needs water.

Every kind at every stage.

The kind is just for fun and has nothing to do with the rhythm. A cactus for the friend you see twice a year is a nice touch, but it's not a rule.

How they grow

A plant grows a step as you keep in touch over the months. What counts is the number of different days you were in touch, so three calls in one afternoon count once.

Stage	Days in touch
Seedling	none yet
Sprout	1
Young plant	3
Growing well	6
In full bloom	10

A plant NEVER shrinks. If you remove a hello from the history, the plant stays as big as it got. Its stage shows on the card under "Growing", with how many days you've been in touch.

When they get thirsty

Each friend's rhythm decides when their plant needs water. Once the time since your last hello reaches the rhythm, the plant is a bit thirsty, and at twice the rhythm it's droopy. Someone you've just planted counts from the day you added them.

How often	A bit thirsty after	Droopy after
Every week	7 days	14 days
Every 2 weeks	14 days	28 days
Every month	30 days	60 days
Every 3 months	91 days	182 days
Whenever	180 days	never

Fresh, a bit thirsty and droopy.

You can see it in the plant: a bit thirsty leans a little and goes a shade paler, and droopy hangs its leaves and flowers, turns yellow at the edges, and the soil dries out and cracks. On a computer, a thirsty plant also gets a small drop on its name tag, and its card says A bit thirsty or Droopy. That's as loud as it gets. A plant never dies, however long it's been, and one hello makes it fresh again. For a day or so after you water it, there are drops of water on its leaves.

"Thirstiest first" puts everyone in one long planter, in order of who's waited the longest.

The garden at dusk

When your device is in dark mode, the garden is the same garden an hour after sunset: a purple sky with a moon and stars, the plants in evening colors, and fireflies drifting over the beds. Settings has a "Look" choice of Automatic, Day or Dusk if you'd rather pick one yourself.

The plants at dusk.

If your device is set to reduce motion, the plants hold still, the clouds and fireflies stop, and watering happens without the watering can.

Next step

Now that your garden is growing, Your garden's data is worth a read, mostly for the backup.