To grow a garden in Tales of the Shire, plant fruit, vegetable, spice, and flower seeds in garden beds, use the planting indicators to choose spacing and neighbors, and tend your plants regularly. Rainy days save you a trip with the watering can. Harvesting and completing Gardening Club tasks also help advance your Gardening skill.
What you can grow—and why it matters
Gardening is part of Bywater’s everyday loop alongside foraging, fishing, trading, and cooking. You can plant fruits, vegetables, spices, and flowers; choose ingredients that suit the meals you want to prepare, while leaving room for flowers and compatible neighbors. The official Tales of the Shire site and Nintendo’s game listing describe gardening as part of the game’s broader home-and-food activities.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings™ Game - Nintendo Switch | $34.69 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game | $55.21 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express - Nintendo Switch | $25.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Sonic Superstars - Nintendo Switch | $24.87 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 (Nintendo Switch 2) | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
How to plant seeds and plan the layout
- Choose a bed and a seed. Pick a fruit, vegetable, spice, or flower seed. If you are planning meals, prioritize ingredients you expect to cook with.
- Check the space ring. While placing a crop, inspect the ring that shows how much room it needs. Leave the displayed space rather than crowding it with nearby plants.
- Check the neighbor indicators. The planting interface also shows compatibility with nearby plants. Favor neighbors with positive indicators; an unhappy indicator can mean the environment is a poor match or that the crop prefers more space or solitude. Use the current in-game indicators rather than assuming a specific pairing.
- Confirm the placement. Once spacing and neighbors look suitable, plant the seed. Repeat the checks as you add crops, since each new plant changes the neighborhood around it.
PC Gamer’s Tales of the Shire gardening guide describes the space ring and neighbor compatibility indicators. It also connects plant happiness with crop quality, but does not provide a complete authoritative chart of every seed pairing.
How to care for the garden
Check your plants and tend them as needed. Xbox UK’s game guide says plants require regular tending and that rainy days save you a trip with the watering can. It does not establish a universal daily watering schedule, so follow the state of your plants in-game rather than relying on a fixed number of days.
#1 Best Overall
- Welcome Home, Hobbit – Decorate your own Hobbit-home and transform this cosy space with grid-free placement to position furniture and home décor to your liking. Discover the wonders each new day brings to Bywater as you settle into your serene home for much needed rest
- Food Is Love – No Hobbit’s day is complete without food. Fish, garden, and forage to stock up the pantry with the fruits of your labour. Harvest seasonal crops and flowers as time passes in your home. Enjoy the warmth of the kitchen and show off your culinary skills with recipes for mealtimes. Partake in second breakfast or host a dinner party with fellow Hobbits. Share meals with invited guests to create new relationships.
- Explore Bywater – Explore the outdoors to discover secret glades and lost treasures of the Shire. Experience the ever-changing weather that affects daily routines and discover seasonal surprises based on the time of year. Gain rewards through your story progression. Meet iconic characters and familiar Hobbit families to trade for upgrades to skills, clothes, home, and more. Join club missions to complete daily activities and help gain official village status in Bywater
- Bonus Items - Includes a beautiful 20”x16” fold-out map for the quaint village of Bywater and an official game soundtrack download code.
- Languages - English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (LATAM), Turkish, and Traditional Chinese
How companion planting and crop quality fit together
Companion planting means placing compatible flowers or ingredients near one another. Xbox UK says Bywater gardens benefit from companion planting, while PC Gamer reports that compatibility and plant happiness are visible as you place crops and are associated with crop quality. Treat those indicators as your practical guide: no single pairing is established here as best for every garden or seed.
If a crop is not reaching the quality you want, review its space ring and the neighbor indicators when planting or arranging nearby plants. The available guides do not establish exact growth times for every crop or a complete seed-by-seed companion chart, so avoid relying on unverified pairings or fixed growth-day claims.
Rank #2
- Set in the peaceful village of Bywater, near Hobbiton, players create and personalize their own Hobbit character, engaging in activities such as cooking, fishing, foraging, gardening, and home decorating. The game features a grid-free decorating system, allowing for creative freedom in designing your Hobbit home. With a focus on relaxation and community building, players can build relationships with fellow Hobbits and contribute to the growth of Bywater. The game is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, offering a tranquil experience without combat or major conflicts.
How gardening advances
Harvesting crops and completing Rosie Cotton’s daily Gardening Club missions are reported progression routes. As you advance, Gardening Club rewards may include garden expansions; PC Gamer also reports that Farmer Cotton can offer additional beds and higher-quality seeds. These give you more room and options to develop the garden, while harvests support the cooking loop.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Embark on an adventure of your own creation. The latest in the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series.
- New story content – Experience original, streamlined story content and quests with new paths to achieve.
- Character creation – Create a customized protagonist with unique appearance, voice, motions and more.
- Town building system – Rebuild the protagonist's town as the story progresses with evolving town reconstruction mechanics and development while inviting new people to live in the town.*
- HD-2D Visuals – The series’ iconic graphic style returns, bringing a striking blend of retro 2D characters in a beautiful 3D world.
Rank #4
- A new Spin on a Classic: You've never played classic Sonic like this before!
- Multiply, swim up waterfalls, change form, and more with the powers of the Chaos Emeralds.
- lay as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose, using their unique abilities to explore and uncover new paths and secrets.
- More Friends, More Fun: Play with up to 3 other players in local Co-op and challenge players from around the world in Battle Mode!
Rank #3
- New character: The game is a faithful but augmented adaptation of the original story, with a new character named Joanna Locke added to the mix. With her, you can regularly exit the train environment during playable flashbacks.
- Gameplay: Enter into Hercule Poirot’s head to discover mind maps and make deductions, adding an extra layer of depth to the gameplay. And don't forget the many puzzles with object manipulations that are scattered throughout each chapter.
- Plot: Get ready for major plot twists that will keep the players hooked until the very end. Murder on the Orient Express is renowned for having one of the best plot twists in literary history, and this game is no exception.
- Solve puzzles: As you play, you'll take on the roles of Poirot and Joanna, solve puzzles and make deductions to uncover the truth behind the murder. In a 3rd person view, you'll inspect the sets and talk to all the protagonists, searching for clues and confronting the suspects.
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