Fairyland plants[]
Fairyland revolves around its plants; gardens level up through cultivating specific plants, animals and other wildlife are attracted and repelled by specific plants, and herbs can be grown to produce elixirs.
There are seven types of plants in Fairyland (as of May 2010): Level-up, herbs, bonsai, cacti, Limited Edition plants, collectibles, and magical mushrooms. Mushrooms and bonsai require special pots that cannot be used for other plants. As a garden levels up, or certain types of plants are grown, more seeds are unlocked for the player.
Growing plants requires patience and gold. First, a pot must be obtained by clicking on the button below the garden that has a silhouette of a pot on it. After acquisition, the Fairyland shopkeeper will ask if the player wishes to purchase a seed for the pot. This will lead to a menu of seeds, with tabs for the different seed types. Once a seed is selected and paid for, it appears in the pot immediately. It should then be watered according to the care instructions.
Caring for a plant is simple. Once the cursor is hovering over a plant, a box will pop up to reveal when the plant was last watered, which fairy or elf watered it, and how soon the plant will wilt without watering. Groups of plants have different lengths of time before wilting, so it is important to check each one. If you see one with a dark brown top panel, that is the one that will wilt first if no watering is done.
Plants have a specific time before they produce flowers (or, in the case of herbs, fragrant leaves), and then another specific time before they fruit or are available for harvest. For some types, the time to flower can be halved with the use of diamond dust, and for some types, the time to fruit can be halved with fruiting dust. A second application halves the remaining time again.
There are some flower species that come in multiple colours, which can be changed with the use of gold dust. Some species must have the colour changed at the flowering stage, while others (such as the Carmena uniflora) can only be changed at the fruiting stage. The starting colour is random for these species, but colour change goes in order of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) so that, for example, a yellow flower would need two applications of gold dust for it to become blue.
There are other species that come in multiple colours (the gemstone flowers) whose colours are determined by the pot in which they are planted. This is specific to the player--the same seed/pot combination will be different from one player to the next.
Level-up seeds[]
Level-up seeds are grown to raise the level of a player's garden. For example, to go from level 1 to level 2, a player must successfully grow and harvest one Cumulus Albiflorus plant and one Bellis Lycaena plant. Some levels require the player to grow a certain number of colours of the plants, but include unused colours grown in the past. For example, from level 2 to level 3 requires a player to grow three different colours of the Bellis Lycaena, but the one grown to reach level 2 counts toward that total. Players unlock more level-up seeds as their gardens gain levels.
Herbs[]
Herbs are grown for the purpose of practising herbalism. Herbalism allows the player to combine herbs with other elements in order to create gold and elixirs. Once a player has created all of the type of elixirs, the fairy's superpowers are unlocked. A beginning player has one herb available (the Nestflower Herb); more become available as the player levels up. Herbs use regular pots, and players can use diamond and fruiting dust on herbs to get them to grow more quickly. Each harvested herb yields five fruits that can be used in herbalism attempts.
Bonsai[]
Bonsai are special plants that yield ten fruits that can be used in herbalism. Bonsai require special pots that can only be used to grow bonsai, and there is a limit of two or fewer bonsai at a time in each garden. Bonsai are not available until a garden is level 11. Diamond dust can be used on bonsai; its effects reduce growing time by one day. Bonsai are very useful in attracting certain wildlife, especially squirrels.
Flowering Cacti[]
Cacti are plants that require a special pot that can only be used for cacti. They are unique in that they are variable in whether or not they can be harvested; their flower opens and closes on a cycle, and the cacti can only be harvested when the flower is open. Diamond and fruiting dust can be used to speed the growth of cacti. As each species is grown and successfully harvested by the player, the next is unlocked. Cacti are the only plants that attract geckos.
Limited Edition[]
Limited edition plants are no longer available for purchase; players must receive them as gifts from other players. Limited Edition plants come with special pots that can be stored for later use after the plant has been harvested. Some are seasonal treats to celebrate monthly holidays, attracting special seasonal animals, while others promote causes such as breast cancer awareness. For example, the Limited Edition plant for breast cancer awareness, available only in October, came in a pink pot, had a pink flower resembling a carnation, and produced a pink ribbon fruit; it attracted a pink flamingo, an animal that was attracted only by this plant, and only during the month of October. The Halloween plant came in a pumpkin-shaped pot, produced a tigerlily-like orange flower, fruited only on Halloween, and attracted bats and black cats.
Collectibles[]
Collectibles are "just for fun" plants that are not required for leveling up. They are grown in regular pots. Each seed produces one of several different fruits, some rarer than others. The first available collectible is the Fructus Randomus, which produces one of several fruits (which are actual fruits--grape, pineapple, etc.) with faces and names. Aside from collecting the fruits, the Fructus randomus is the only plant that will attract tortoises, so the player does have an incentive to grow these plants.
Magical Mushrooms[]
While in the real world, mushrooms are not technically plants, they are classified as such in Fairyland, and will therefore be dealt with here as such.
Magical mushrooms have two very important purposes: deterring "common" wildlife and attracting mythological creatures. A player does not have access to the first mushroom seed until level 2. Each subsequent seed is available after certain conditions are met; the conditions are usually having grown and harvested the previous mushroom available, attracting the mythological creature associated with that mushroom, spotting that mythological creature in another garden, and reaching a certain Wildlife level.