The Garden Gate

Beginning the game the right way is important, else you'll get beat quickly by a simple 4-flower Harmony.
Stick to these simple rules to not get behind in the early game:

• Always start with either the White Jade (White 5) or Rhododendron (Red 5).
  
  
• The second flower has to harmonize with your first placed flower.
  

• Don't move out to the side of a gate. 
  You can't form a Harmony through a gate, so a flower next to a gate can't really be used in a Harmony Ring. (Also applies to Harmonies along the midlines.)
  

• Every flower you place in a gate should harmonize with at least one of your flowers on the board.
  

• Try to get a Harmony Bonus with every move you make.
  You should form your first Harmony no later than on your 4th turn. Then, always form a Harmony when moving out of a gate and place a new flower in one of the gates.
  

• Don't play the Orchid too early. 
  Having an Orchid in a gate prevents you from planting flower tiles as a Harmony Bonus and it costs you one turn to move the Orchid out of the gate.
  
  
• Watch out when playing the White Lotus, it can be abused by the opponent!
  
  
• When your opponent has 4 flower tiles on the board, check if he can finish the game with 1 or 2 moves, and block him if necessary.
  Always keep in mind that tiles can be moved by the boat and wheel.
  
  
• More flowers on the board means more possibilities to create Harmonies.
  Also, it's harder for your opponent to block you.
  

Thank you! As someone new to the game this is very useful given how little strategy material I've been able to find.

These are just some basic rules for the early game. I'll probably make some more posts explaining the Accent tiles and going deeper into Blocking.

Excellent post SpinxKreuz. As DBDrifter said it’s good to see some strategy material.

Regarding tip 3, I have noticed a technique being used that involves starting with W3, plandting R1 to one side, not opposite, moving W3 straight out, then moving R1 sideways from the gate to get a harmony on turn 3. This really speeds up the planting process, but requires more moves later to create a ring.
Is there a better way to gain momentum early in the game?