Create Your Own Virtual Garden
Play Virtual Gardener to turn a bare, neglected plot into a thriving organic garden, one good decision at a time. Choose your soil and climate, spend a careful budget on seeds and features, plant for the season, and tend your garden the organic way. Get it right and you’ll be rewarded with a harvest, a beautiful plot, and visitors from bees and butterflies to hedgehogs and frogs. Virtual Gardener is free to play in your browser.
Preparing your plot…
What you’re aiming for
A great garden isn’t just a big harvest. Your season is scored across five qualities. Balance them, and you’ll earn the top grade of Master Gardener:
- Biodiversity: a variety of healthy plant types growing together.
- Wildlife: visitors drawn in by habitat and flowers.
- Harvest: edible crops gathered through the season.
- Beauty: flowers, structure and attractive features.
- Sustainability: organic methods like compost, water saving, ponds and native planting.
Quick start in six steps
- Plan your plot. Pick your mode (a goal-driven campaign or relaxed sandbox), difficulty, climate and starting soil. Each choice shapes your budget, weather and what will thrive.
- Shop on a budget. Open the Shop and spend wisely on seeds, tools, soil improvers and features. A pond, compost bin or bug hotel pays you back later in wildlife and fertility.
- Plant for the season. Tap Plant, choose a seed, then tap an empty bed. The game tells you what’s in season. Sow a tender tomato too early and the frost will get it.
- Tend and protect. Use Water and Feed to keep plants healthy, and Protect with netting or a cold frame. Companion flowers and friendly wildlife keep pests in check, the organic way.
- Let time pass. Press play (or fast-forward) and watch the sun arc over, day turn to night, and the seasons change. Pause any time to step in and tend your beds.
- Harvest & welcome wildlife. A basket appears over anything ripe. Tap to gather it and discover recipes. Habitat and flowers bring bees, birds, frogs and more. In campaign mode, beat the target by late autumn to win.
Handy tips
- Match plant to place. Lavender and thyme love poor, dry soil; thirsty lettuce wants rich, moist beds. Read each seed’s note in the shop.
- Invest early. A compost bin slowly enriches your soil, and a water butt saves you in a drought. Features are an investment, not a luxury.
- Plant flowers, not just food. Pollinator favourites like borage, cosmos and lavender bring the bees that lift your whole garden’s score.
- Mind the calendar. Sow when the season is right. If you must plant something tender, a cold frame or greenhouse will shelter it.
Controls at a glance
- Zoom: slider, mouse wheel or pinch.
- Pan: drag the garden to move around.
- Fit: frame the whole plot.
- Speed: pause, play or fast-forward time.
- Sound: mute or unmute.
- Book: goals, awards and discovered recipes.
Ready to dig in?
Pick your soil, sow your first seeds, and grow a garden that buzzes with life.