Botany Manor: Chapter 2 Guide

Botany Manor is all about exploring the titular mansion, home to keen botanist Arabella Greene, and growing her wonderfully exotic plants that she has discovered and studied in great detail. Altogether in the roughly 5-hour playthrough consisting of 5 chapters, there are 12 different plants to discover and grow. For each plant, it is your task to figure out, with the clues provided, how to grow them. This game is in effect a puzzle game, and some of the plants are certainly a puzzler. That’s why this 5-part guide has been put together, so if you ever do find yourself lost or stuck, we can help you on your way.

In this second guide, you’ll be taken through the second chapter of Botany Manor, where you’ll be tasked with growing 2 plants.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our review of Botany Manor, which is now available on PC, Xbox consoles, and Nintendo Switch for $24.99.

To see the rest of this Botany Manor walkthrough, see the guides for the other four chapters:

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5

Map of Botany Manor

Botany Manor is set completely in the titular manor and its gorgeous gardens, and has you walking around in first-person. In the whole playthrough, you’ll visit every part of the manor, indoors and out. With such a vast place to explore, you can find yourself getting lost. Thankfully, Botany Manor does provide you with a map within the game, with a complete layout of the manor and gardens, labelling every room and different parts of the gardens. 

For Chapter 2 of Botany Manor, here are the maps you need to find your way around as you grow the Fulguria and Ash Plume:

Chapter 2 – Survivors of Adversity

You’ve passed the tutorial and are hopefully now getting the idea of Botany Manor, but this is when things step up. For the second chapter, you have 2 plants to grow: Fulguria and Ash Plume. There is a lot more space to explore, and more clues, but don’t worry. We’ll walk you through this chapter and its two plants.

Have a look at the notes in the Herbarium for the Fulguria and Ash Plume. There’s a mention about thunderstorms for the Fulguria, and something about “a tough case to crack” for the Ash Plume. These seem a bit odd, but they are very important for solving how to grow them, so keep these in mind. 

The Screens Passage

In the corridor off the left side of the Main Hall (aka the Screens Passage), you’ll find your first clues. Examine the Dartmoor Poster on the wall first. It mentions a place called Wistman’s Wood. Add this to the Ash Plume page. The next clue is further along to the right, where you’ll find an open book on the left about pyrophiles. This is very important, so make sure to read all the pages, turning the page over. It talks about plants living in fires, with seeds that have tough shells and only blooming when surrounded by smoke aromas from their natural habitat. Add the Pyrophiles book to the Ash Plume page.

Grand Staircase Foyer

You cannot go through any of the three doors in the passage; they are locked. Instead, cross the Main Hall into a side room where you’ll find the Grand Staircase. Don’t bother going up the stairs; you won’t find anything of use in this chapter. On a chair in this side hall, you’ll find a seed packet. Collect them so you can now grow Fulguria.

Look at the table to the right and you’ll find 3 photos. Pick up and examine them all. One is blurry, one is dark, and one is well lit and in focus. On the back of each photo, Arabella has made notes. She talks about the camera, flash lamp and flash powder. Add the Photographs clue to the Fulguria page.

The Apothecary and Dining Room

Look left and you’ll see a door you can go through. This room is the Apothecary. On the left, you’ll see a science lab set up, complete with a flask and chemicals. 

Go through the door behind you to discover the vast Dining Room. There’s nothing of interest here, except a book in the far right corner to the left of the fireplace. This is another important clue, so read it. It talks about the Fulguria only blooming during thunderstorms. Add the Folklore Book to the Fulguria page.

The Drawing Room

On the other side of the fireplace is another door. Go through this one and you’ll be in a large Drawing Room. Walk past the piano where you’ll see a table below a painting of a horse. You’ll find a basket with a key to the Back Terrace. Collect this key up, but don’t go to the Back Terrace yet. There’s still plenty to find and do in the Drawing Room.

Turn around to face the desk. There are two items of note. The first is an empty flash powder bottle. Pick it up and examine it. Turn it around so you can read all the label. Make special note of one particular line: “Chemical Composition: Potassium and Magnesium (2:1 ratio)“. This is very important so remember it! Add Empty Flash Powder to the Fulguria page. Next, read the letter on the desk as this provides an important clue. A farmer has complained about flashes coming from the manor, making the cows think a storm is coming. Add Letter From Farmer to the Fulguria page.

Move on from the desk and take a look at the camera set up. There’s a camera, plus a flash lamp, both facing a saucer situated on a shelf. This is where a plant goes: more specifically, the Fulguria.

There’s just one more thing of note in the Drawing Room. Go to the table in the middle of the sofas and armchairs. You’ll find some instructions for the flash lamp. Read this carefully to learn how to use the flash lamp; it’s now time to use it! Add the Flash Lamp Manual to the Fulguria page.

Growing the Fulguria

You have everything you need to grow the Fulguria, so return to the potting bench just outside the Main Hall. You’ve got the Fulguria seeds so you can get on and plant it. Once that’s done, pick up the pot and carry it to the saucer where the camera is set up.

We’ve got the plant, now we need to take a photo with the camera. To do that, we need to set up the flash lamp, and to use the flash lamp, we need flash powder.

Remember the flask and chemicals in the Apothecary? Now you’re going to use it to create flash powder! Make sure the flask is on the stand, then look at the chemicals. Remember what the flash powder bottle said? To make flash powder, you need to add Potassium twice, and then Magnesium once (they’re the second and third bottles from the left). That’s all you need to do, and the flash powder is now ready. (If you mess up mixing the chemicals, you can start again by tipping the chemicals in the flask away in the chemical disposal bucket on the right.)

Carry the flask of flash powder into the Drawing Room. Take it to the flash lamp, making sure the flap is down. Pour the powder in and close the lamp. Now we’re in business! Find somewhere to set the flask down; you don’t need it anymore.

With the plant and flash lamp ready, it’s now time for the big moment: taking the photo! Simply press the button situated on the little table and the photo will be taken. The big flash will prompt the plant to grow. You have completed the Fulguria!

All Clues for Fulguria (5): Flash Lamp Manual, Letter From Farmer, Flash Powder Bottle, Folklore Book, Photographs

Go to the Back Terrace

You’ve done the first plant in Chapter 2, now let’s focus on the second: Ash Plume. You have the key for the Back Terrace, so head over to the Screens Passage and turn right to the end. The door to the Back Terrace is there.

Enter the Back Terrace. Ignore the French double doors for now; this is access to the orangery, but you can’t go in there until later, so go past and go down the steps. On the first landing, you’ll find a potting bench. This is where you’ll eventually plant an Ash Plume ready to grow.

The Rose Garden and Viewpoint

There’s nothing else on this level so keep going down the steps and follow the path into the Rose Garden. On the left, you should see a table with two important things: a book and a seed packet. Collect the seeds so you can now plant Ash Plume. Make sure to read the book, as this contains a clue for growing the plant. Note the log for Ash Plume located in Wistman’s Wood. Remember that name from the Dartmoor poster in the passage? Add Seed Log to the Ash Plume page.

Head to the end of the Rose Garden. You can’t go through the gate into the Formal Garden: it won’t be accessible until the last chapter of the game. For now, head left up the steps through the archway. On the left is a table with a letter, but it isn’t a clue. Turn right and head down the steps to the Viewpoint (the wooden door you pass is locked). 

Look on the ledge of the Viewpoint and you’ll find some items. One is a key that will grant you access to the Kitchen. 

The Kitchen

Head back through the Rose Garden and Back Terrace to the passage. At the other end is the door to the Kitchen.

As you go down the steps into the Kitchen, you might notice a doorway on the left. This is the Pantry, but don’t worry about it for now. You’ll go in there later. Just focus on the Kitchen. On the wall, you’ll find a religious blessing. This isn’t important now, but it is related to a later puzzle.

The Kitchen is a big room.

In the Kitchen, go to the big table where you’ll find a book. It talks about roasting chestnuts and how to crack the shell. This is a vital clue for the Ash Plume. Add the Cooking Book to the page.

Make sure to read the book on roasting chestnuts.

On the left near the stove, there’s a table with a pamphlet that mentions Dartmoor and burning forests. Next to it is a broken mortar, but it’s the Dartmoor Lecture that provides another clue for the Ash Plume.

Don’t miss the Dartmoor Lecture clue in the Kitchen.

The Servants Hall and Kitchen Garden

To the right of the stove is a door. Go through it to enter the Servants Hall. On the right wall is a framed poem. There are two key things to take away from this: “Wistman’s Wood”, but also “Oaks“. This will be important to the plant and made clear soon. Add Poem to the Ash Plume page.

In the Servants Hall, check out the poem on the wall.

Head up the stairs and outside into the Kitchen Garden. Note the piles of logs grouped by wood type on the right, marked Oak, Maple, Cherry, and Birch.

Continue further along the Kitchen Garden until the Smokery comes into view. Before it on the left is a book. This is another critical clue, talking about burning wood and different smoke aromas. Ring a bell? Recall back to the pyrophiles book. Add Smoking Book to the Ash Plume page.

The Smoking Book provides some important information.

Enter the Smokery. There’s a saucer on the shelf by a fire pit in the floor. This is where the Ash Plume goes.

Growing the Ash Plume

You’ve got everything you need to grow the Ash Plume, so let’s get on with it. Go to the potting bench on the Back Terrace and get an Ash Plume set up – but don’t take it to the Smokery yet!

This is an easy step to miss. Did you notice how there’s no sapling sprouting from the seed? That’s because Ash Plume has a seed with a tough shell. What else has a tough shell? Chestnuts! The cook book talked about how chestnuts needed to be roasted on a pan to crack the shell! With this in mind, take the plant into the Kitchen and place it on the pan. This might seem odd, but give it a few seconds, and the Ash Plume seed with crack and sprout a sapling. Now the Ash Plume is ready to take to the Smokery.

Place the Ash Plume on the saucer in the Smokery. Next, go to the logs against the Kitchen Garden wall. The poem mentioned oak, so pick up an oak log (on the far left). Carry the log to the Smokery and place it in the pit. One log is enough to produce a lot of smoke and make the Ash Plume grow.

All Clues for Ash Plume (7): Dartmoor Poster, Pyrophiles, Seed Log, Cooking Book, Dartmoor Lecture, Poem, Smoking Book

The Orchard Key Arrives

When both the Fulguria and Ash Plume have been grown, you’ll get notified that there’s been a delivery at the Gatehouse. Head over there and you’ll find a key sitting in the basket, this one to access the Orchard. There’s a letter to go with it that you can read.

With the key to the Orchard, you might as well go there next. You can find the Orchard from the Gatehouse by turning left at the big fountain through the door, and there on the right will be the entrance into the Orchard.

Stepping inside will spark the beginning of chapter 3 of Botany Manor – and with that marking the end of Chapter 2 and this guide.