Hey, thanks for the feedback! I definitely agree that the early game is very unbalanced, and there was plans during development for either a little time waster mini-game or something to do while waiting for flowers to grow. Unfortunately it was scrapped due to time restraints. :( On the last point, I can see what you mean, though you do unlock different flowers in the shop by leveling up, that may have not been super clear due to the lack of a tutorial.
Viewing post in Growing a Garden jam comments
One option would be to have time advance in increments when you leave and go do something else. For instance, if you visit the shop and then come back, all the plants will advance 1 growth stage. Or if you go talk to an NPC, the plants will advance their growth. Basically incentivize going to do other activities and returning to your plants to do maintenance and check if they are done growing, rather than just sitting there waiting for real-time to pass.