The My Child New Beginnings garden is the backyard of the house, and clearing it is the hard gate on day three: until the tall grass and the tree branches are gone, feeding and every other task stay blocked. Everything after that - repairing the fence, rebuilding the swing, putting up a birdhouse, planting pots - runs on the same renovation system as the rooms inside.
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My Child New Beginnings garden: clearing on day three
The child spots the tall grass moving in the garden and you cut it back by hand, as an on-screen action.
Clearing the grass reveals what was under it - a ball and the flowers.
Get the tree branches cleared too. Grass and branches both have to go, and until they do, the rest of the day is unavailable.
One day later, the chapter summary scores the work: "You and 46% of others fixed up the garden."
Repairs and crafting
Each renovation is finished by tapping the toolbox and costs three time units. Crafting is the same idea with materials - tap repeatedly to turn wood and paint you have found into new decorations and other items.
The old fence can be repainted and replaced using spare wood and white paint.
The broken swing is rebuilt from bits found in the shed.
A bird house can be put up, and the trellis can be swapped out.
The fence quest is the special case that catches everyone out: it is finished in Renovation mode, not Decoration mode, and nothing has to be bought for it. That one trips up a lot of players who think the game has frozen.
Buying plants and decorations
The village shop sells the yard as well as the house:
Plants and flowers that you plant in the backyard.
Potted plants for the house.
Bird houses and trellises.
Potato plants.
A plant pot has to be watered, and the watering is a separate interaction from planting. Seeds come in packs too - pumpkin seeds were released for every player so you can grow your own pumpkins, and the Hearts and Hugs pack ships rose trellis seeds. Where these plants and decorations are sold is here.
The events that happen in the yard
The yard is where several story events live:
A hedgehog appears in the tall grass, and can die.
The cat that lives there catches a bird, which upsets the child so much that they spend the week trying to protect birds. Putting orange peels in the garden keeps the birds safe, because cats dislike citrus.
A story character left a trophy in the garden.
The yard as a weekend job
The garden is one of the regular weekend projects, alongside laundry, cleaning and cooking. What fills the rest of the weekend is here, and where the plants and decorations are sold is here.
When the garden blocks the whole day
If clearing the garden does not open up the rest of the day, the cause is usually one of two things: the branches are still standing, or you are trying to replace the fence in Decoration mode instead of Renovation mode. Both fixes are quick. The full troubleshooting order is here.
FAQ
What has to be cleared in the garden?
The tall grass and the tree branches have to go on day three, before feeding or any other task opens. The fence and the swing are separate repair jobs afterwards.
What can I do at the weekend?
Ask on Friday and go out on Saturday, work in the yard or practise at home. The village shop is closed on Sunday.