The aspirations in The Sims 4 help steer your gameplay and shape your Sim’s character through Bonus and Reward traits. One particularly beneficial aspiration for budding gardeners is the Freelance Botanist, which teaches essential gardening skills such as grafting, fertilizing, and nurturing plants.
This aspiration falls under the Nature category in the base game, making it especially appealing for players who are passionate about gardening. It’s also a fantastic option for those who want to interact with a cowplant, as the final level requires your Sim to cultivate this unique creature.
Starting this aspiration is ideal if you plan to create a PlantSim. If you’re not playing the Plant-a-Sim scenario, the only way to become a PlantSim is by growing the Forbidden Fruit of PlantSim, which requires reaching level 10 in gardening skill.
Guide to the Freelance Botanist Aspiration
As your Sim works through the Freelance Botanist aspiration, they will enhance their gardening skills and improve the quality of plants in their garden. This process takes time but rewards you with 4,825 aspiration points, which can be spent on various Reward Traits and bonuses, such as the Potion of Youth or a Money Tree.
Choosing a lot with the Great Soil trait from The Sims 4: City Living can significantly ease the completion of this aspiration.
Reward: Naturalist Trait
With the Naturalist trait, your Sims become more resilient to fire and can extinguish it more easily. This trait is particularly beneficial if you have inexpensive appliances, fireplaces, or bonfires in your home.
Reward: Green Thumb Achievement
Upon completing this aspiration, your Sim will max out their gardening skill. If this is your first Sim to achieve this in your save file, you will unlock the Green Thumb Achievement.
Reward: Grow an Excellent Quality Garden
The various levels of this aspiration focus on caring for plants, which will gradually enhance the quality of your plants. Just like in reality, plants in The Sims 4 flourish in optimal conditions—they need to be watered, fertilized, and exposed to adequate sunlight. Higher-quality plants yield better harvests, allowing you to sell them for more Simoleons or craft superior meals.
Once your Sim reaches level 2 in gardening skill, they will unlock the Evolve interaction for plants nearing the next quality level. Each quality tier for a plant is referred to as its evolution level, and it can be:
- Normal
- Nice
- Excellent
- Magnificent
- Perfect
Harvesting plants can be a profitable venture in The Sims 4, especially for players engaged in challenges like Rags to Riches or Legacy. It provides your Sims with a relatively passive income stream that can easily carry through generations.
A Complete Breakdown of Aspiration Levels and Tasks
The Freelance Botanist Aspiration has four stages, all aimed at developing your gardening skill to unlock new interactions and create an ideal garden. The growth of plants is gradual, so finishing the aspiration may take some time.
While the pace can be slow, it’s a rewarding challenge that can be completed alongside other gameplay elements, such as advancing in a career or nurturing a family. Additionally, gardening often earns more money than many low-tier jobs, providing a valuable head start in a new game.
Milestone | Task | Notes |
---|---|---|
Naturewalker | Plant something three times | Your Sims can plant items found in your garden or purchase seeds through a computer, phone, or planter. If you have The Sims 4: Cottage Living, steer clear of oversized crops. |
Weed or water plants three times | Plants will dry out and develop weeds over time. Building a roof over them or taking planters indoors can reduce natural watering from rain. | |
Garden Variety | Achieve level 4 gardening skill | You can raise the gardening skill by maintaining plants or reading books on gardening. Books can be purchased directly from a bookshelf. |
Evolve five different plants | At gardening skill level 2, your Sim can evolve well-tended plants. Look for sparkles in your garden or hover over the plants to check their status. | |
Nature Nurturer | Achieve level 6 gardening skill | More plants lead to more skill-building opportunities. You can also buy medium and high-level gardening books to boost progress. |
Graft onto three plants | The Sims 4 has a grafting feature that allows you to create rare or unique plants. By reaching gardening skill level 5, you can take cuttings from plants. Once your Sim has a cutting, choose the Graft interaction with another plant. | |
Fertilize five plants | Fertilizer becomes available at gardening skill level 3. You can buy fertilizer by clicking on a planter or use items from your garden to save money. | |
Freelance Botanist | Achieve level 10 gardening skill | Continue honing your skills until you max out the gardening skill. Once you reach level 10, you can purchase Rare Seeds, which you’ll need for the PlantSim transformation. |
Grow a cowplant | To grow a cowplant, you’ll need to locate or graft a cowplant berry. These can be found while fishing in Oasis Springs and San Sequoia. If you have time, try grafting snapdragons and dragon fruit to create a cowplant berry. Once acquired, you can plant it just like any other crop. | |
Evolve ten Excellent plants | To evolve a plant to Excellent quality, it must evolve three times. Make sure to water, weed, and fertilize your plants to enhance their quality. Your best bet is to continue evolving plants you developed during the Garden Variety milestone. |
Tips for Completing the Freelance Botanist Aspiration
Completing this aspiration may take some time. Here are some tips to speed things up:
- Skill building can be slow, but certain personality traits can help. Traits like Practice Makes Perfect and Overachiever can enhance skill gain over time.
- If you have The Sims 4: Seasons, growing plants indoors or under cover will help bypass seasonal effects, allowing for more frequent harvesting and the ability to buy more gardening supplies.
- The Loves The Outdoors trait can increase your Sim’s happiness during gardening tasks. This trait can be found under the Hobby menu.
- Taking on the Gardener career provides additional opportunities to develop your gardening skills. Once you hit level 5, you may choose to follow the Botanist career track, resulting in a cowplant berry.
- Do not give your Sim the Super Green Thumb Reward Trait, as this reduces the care plants need, making it harder for your Sim to level up their skill.