Calico Gardens February, 2009 | March, 2009
We are Ginger and Juju from Calico! We have a lot of jobs in Calico but one of our favorites is growing flowers. We didn't think to take a lot of pictures when we first started but we are now! :D When we first found Calico all the hybrid flowers had been saved from the old town, but that wasn't very many. There were two purple pansies, about six orange pansies, a black tulip, three pink tulips, three pink roses, and a pink cosmos. Raising hybrids is all about experimentation in lay-out and efficiency. Which placements produce the best spawns? Which are easiest to take care of? Do you specialize or try for many types all at once? We don't think there is one perfect solution, but we are learning what works for us. A few things we've found that seem to help hybrid production: Specialize: if you're only after one or two certain varieties, limit the flowers you place to only that type or types. If, on the other hand, you don't care what varieties you breed, put out a mix and see what happens. You can always specialize as the need arises. It seems to us like having a lot of junk lying about town really puts a damper on spawns. Don't leave more than two to four items lying about and only if you have to. Less is more. It's tempting to put out huge groups of flowers for spawning. Usually pairs outspawn trios and trios outspawn larger groups. It also seems to be much more productive to use fewer pairs. Twenty to thirty pair can produce just as many, if not more hybrids, than setting out larger numbers. Diagonal vs. straight lines: in my experience one won't out-produce the other. Place your groupings in the configuration that works best for you. It's a good idea to have someone with plenty of space for storage of flowers you're not using. If you have an extra vacant house in town, have someone move into it! I can't imagine where we'd be in Calico without Juju!