Let It Grow, Let It Grow!: The Growing Success of Grow a Garden
“Ember Lily on stock!” These four words would immediately send Grow a Garden players into a frenzy.
Recently blossoming into one of Roblox’s most beloved games, Grow a Garden is known for its “relaxing” gameplay, plot customization, and thrill of unboxing rare plants and pets. This isn’t the first time that players around the world have tapped into their virtual green thumbs, with many having already tended digital gardens in games like Farmville and Stardew Valley. However, with its sudden rise to fame, what makes this gardening game so irresistible in the first place?
At first glance, Grow a Garden seems simple and boring. But if you dig a bit deeper into the game, you’ll find it surprisingly addictive. First-time players find themselves with a plot of land and 10 sheckles (the in-game currency), which are used to buy seeds to plant and sell. This helps them earn more sheckles for seeds, gears, pet eggs, plot expansions, and even cosmetics to personalize their garden. Players may also participate in quests and seasonal events, which do more than just hand out rewards—they push players to grow rare plants with unique mutations that only appear during these periods. Just like in real life, the in-game weather affects your garden too, with certain conditions that can exponentially multiply the value of your crops, giving you more sheckles!
Many people claim that Grow a Garden is overrated, until they actually play it. What may start as skepticism can quickly blossom into addiction as players experience the game’s magic. And what is that magic? Two words: seed stock. Seeds are the core of the game, as they help players earn sheckles. Thus, since the game’s in-app shop refreshes its selection of seeds every five minutes, avid players are kept on their toes. The game’s developers cleverly designed this system to make players log back into the game compulsively just to check if the next stock has the seed that they have been waiting to buy. Many players have even resorted to joining Discord servers that notify them when the seed they want is on the market to ensure that they successfully obtain it.
Grow a Garden also releases weekly updates every Saturday at 10:00 PM (GMT+8), introducing new events and features. However, aside from this release, players religiously wait for the game’s owner, Jandel, to continuously activate weather commands and spoil players with multiple mutations for their plants. This routine often leads to massive active player counts, causing Roblox servers to malfunction. On June 21, 2025, this strategy reaped what it sowed: Grow a Garden broke the world record for the most concurrent players, with 21.3 million users online all at the same time, dethroning Fortnite’s previous record of 15.3 million.
Even though Grow a Garden has only just begun to bloom, it has already cemented its place in gaming history. By using a simple yet addictive approach, the game has cultivated achievements as rare as a Sugar Apple seed. Kids, parents, and even grandparents are now often seen playing Grow a Garden on their mobile phones, proving that this game can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Whether you’re a casual player who enjoys watching your garden flourish or a grinder who can’t help but want more sheckles, the game has definitely rooted itself into our lives.
