I really need help because I've been playing for a long time but I don't know how to set up my (crop) trees/bushes/PWPs and everything else. Could anyone share any tips/tricks/ideas?
My advice for you is to plan ahead! You can use any spare designs you have to substitute for trees, bushes, pwps, etc. And so that way you can adjust it to your liking without spending any money. It does take a bit more time, but I think it's worth it. I am about 1/4 of the way done with my town (I just started working on it yesterday) and I would be lost if I didn't plan ahead.
My favorite thing to do is put down paths first to make a sort of outline of where to put the bushes and trees and such. I make paths to all permanent buildings in my town or villagers that I know I'm not moving out anytime soon (ie dreamies). After pathing, everything seems a little easier to figure out. Hybrids of any kind tend to look good, as well as bushes. I love bushes covered in snow in the wintertime so I always have them in my towns.
I also plan everything out ahead of time. Sometimes I still have to make changes after I get started, but going in with a plan really helps. I start by mapping out my entire town on a grid and determining where my paths (either patterns or natural) need to go. Then I lay out my PWPs based on the paths and buildings. Trees, bushes and flowers come last for me.
If I'm not sure about my tree layout, I plant fruit trees first to see if I like it. That way I don't waste saplings.
I found that it helps me to focus on small sections rather than the whole town at once. Otherwise, it's just overwhelming.
A crucial part to good landscaping is having a good path system set out before you plant your trees/bushes/flowers.
Once you have your paths connected, then proceed to plant trees and bushes around your path system! It will all come together once you have some greenery around your paths. And when you have spaces where saplings and bushes can't be planted, you can plant your hybrids/flowers in those spaces. That's what i did and my town is looking really great, and all of my hard work has paid off!
I would find a path code that you really love (a neutral brick or wood one that you can lay all over your town) and start plotting from there. You’ll see where you might want things as you go through your town more slowly.
Then, start collecting lots of fruit so you can plant them as trees; it’s easier to see if something does or doesn’t work with fruit trees, since you can just chop it down and replant more. As for cedars and saplings, try storing them up once you’ve seen where your fruit trees have safely grown. You can then chop down the fruit ones and replace them with whichever other tree you wish. Save your bushes and put a simple color pattern where you might want bush paths there and also for permanent PWPs (Cafe, Police Station, etc).
Once that’s done, you can kind of see where you want your neighbors and other PWPs. Those things can be movable or changeable, so that’s why I’d say focus more on where you go with the other, more important landscaping structures first.
Hopefully our suggestions are clear and helpful to you!
