#21353 Botanical Garden contains 3792 pieces and is recommended for ages 18+. It will be released on November 1, 2024 and costs $329.99 (329.99€ / £289.99 / 42.99 CAD / 499.99 AUD).

The attention to detail, overall scale, and large selection of minifigures place this set in the same ‘creator expert’ world as the popular Modular Building Series, even though this set is not explicitly designed to attach to those sets. As such, we will use the modulars for comparison purposes as we assess this new set.

First Impressions

Before the set arrived, I spent some time reviewing the fan submission which will be adapted into an official set. To be totally honest, I was not blown away by the submission for a couple reasons. It feels underwhelmingly decorated with less of the intricate ironwork decorations that I think of when imaging this style of architecture.

Original LEGO Ideas submission by Valentina Bima.

Further, the submission falls short of the intricate detailing found in last year’s LEGO Friends #41757 Botanical Garden. Several people have adapted multiple copies of that set into modulars of their own, so we’ve seen many examples by now. Lastly, I just don’t think the idea of a botanical garden as a modular building makes any sense, since Conservatories are usually in the middle of a sunny park, or at least on a dedicated block in an urban environment so that it isn’t shadowed by nearby buildings.

#21353 The Botanical Garden (LEGO Ideas) – Box Front.

What I found upon opening the box is a model that is much more refined than the original submission. Instead of 1.5 baseplates wide, the final model is two baseplates wide and significantly shorter. This results in more pleasing proportions, which are enhanced greatly by the decision to use a more ornate architectural styling that is closer to the existing LEGO Friends set. The building is set back slightly from the edges of the baseplate, making it clear that this is not really meant to be part of the Modular building series, and I think this was a good call.

I also immediately noticed the huge selection of Minifigures and the smart addition of a small café on one end of the building. This is a striking building that I’m excited to build!

Build Process

The set contains 29 numbered bags, several unmarked bags containing transparent parts, and a cardboard pouch containing a single instruction book and a small sticker sheet.

The box contains 29 bags, instructions, stickers, and two baseplates.

Bags 1-5: Foundation & Floor

In the first two bags, we build a straightforward foundation which shows where the largely symmetrical building will appear in the middle of the two baseplates, and a pathway with a round feature on either side in front of the building. The exterior paths are in light and dark gray. The smaller rooms on either end of the building have tan and medium nougat tiles in a semi-random pattern.

The first bag creates the right side of the foundation, and the second bag creates the left side. It is slow going due to all of the small tiles, and the second side feels a bit repetitive since it is so similar to the first bag.

We lay down a lot of plate and tile in the first two bags.

We start adding walls in Bag 3, which also reveals that the central gallery is raised from the smaller rooms on either end. It is not yet clear why we have three rounded platforms in the middle room, but I’m eager to find out.

A raised section is visible in the third bag.

As I had suspected, a raised floor is installed in the fourth bag. This sets the large central room above the smaller rooms on the end, and it ensures that conservatory guests entering get to go up two stairs from ground level before entering, creating a more dramatic entrance. We also frame off the foundation with additional 1×4 brick bricks, and 2×2 tiles at the corners.

The round platforms the previous bag hold up a sturdy floor.

In Bag 5, we painstakingly finish the tile floor for the large central room. As I built this large tiled section, the pattern on the floor reveals itself as a Hopscotch (or Pinwheel) tile pattern, with a repeating pattern of 2×2 Tile (part 3068) in 5Brick YellowTan and 1×1 Tile (part 3070) in 312Medium NougatMedium Dark Flesh. While the pattern is not especially evident in the small rooms on either end, we have a large enough contiguous room in the middle to see the pattern more easily.

The instruction booklet provides a view from above.

The instruction booklet helps us re-create the intricate tile pattern over the course of 5 pages. The instructions made this easier by offering the instructions with both an angled perspective and a grid view as seen from directly above.

Build Time: 81 minutes (Bag 1: 16 minutes, Bag 2: 14 minutes, Bag 3: 15 minutes, Bag 4: 16 minutes, 5: 20 minutes.)

Bags 6-10: Conservatory interior

We finally start building the interior in Bag 6. The focus of this bag is to create a raised bed in the back of the room with two peninsulas undulating out into the room. The beds have a raised tile edge which look really finished. We also build the first brick-built plant which are a pair of ferns in the back which are built using Barb/Claw w/ Clip (part 16770) in 37Bright Green.

A backdrop of ferns created using curved blades with a clip connection.

We continue building intricate foliage in Bag 7. Near the middle we have a pair of tiny plants that look a lot like Birds of Paradise. I also really liked the taller flower with some nice dangly flowers using Crown, 6-point w/ Bar (part 25516) which appears on the left. We also build a spiral staircase using a new technique involving clips and fence elements.

There’s a ton of great parts usage for the interior plants.

Bag 8 adds columns to the back wall, with supports for other things to attach later. We finish this bag by adding the first bay of windows along the back side of the building. Bag 9 finishes the rear wall and small walls on the left and right sides. This includes a light on both sides. I really like the small balcony at the top of the staircase which will allow guests to see the plants from a different perspective. We finish framing up by the rear windows with 2×6 arches.

Adding the back wall and balcony in Bags 8-9.

We shift our attention to the front of the room in Bag 10. This adds two smaller planter beds flanking the entrance. On the left we build a taller plant with Cherries (part 22667), and on the right we have a clump of bamboo. Finally, we build a small computer terminal where guests can buy a ticket to visit the conservatory.

The conservatory interior is complete, awaiting the two larger plants which we will add later.

It is time to move on to the smaller rooms on the left and right side of the conservatory itself!

Build Time: 83 minutes (Bag 6: 17 minutes, Bag 7: 15 minutes, Bag 8: 14 minutes, Bag 9: 18 minutes, Bag 10: 19 minutes.)

Bags 11-20: Side Rooms

The 11th bag is quite small, because it only contains the pieces required to build a barista minifigure and a small coffee bar. This is placed in the right wing of the building, offering guests the opportunity to buy a coffee drink and a pastry while visiting the gardens. I appreciate how the doughnuts are positioned at an angle inside the cabinet with a glass window.

A selection of Coffee and Pastries in the café.

Bag 12 builds the walls and windows of the café area. It features the same design as the windows in the larger conservatory room with arches on the top and decorative columns on either side. We also have two hanging plants above where the barista stands.

The 13th bag adds a ton of intricate floral details around the front-right side of the building. This includes a pretty vine growing on a trellis, a bed of yellow tulips utilizing a new flower element, and a bed of very full bushes using another new flower element in red. The floral details are lush and vibrant.

Adding the cafe walls in Bag 12 and the flower beds in Bag 13, including new Peony and Tulip elements.

I wasn’t quite sure what we would find in the other wing of the building, but I was pleased to see that we build a cactus garden in Bag 14. Having a dedicated room dedicated to arid plants is consistent with my experiences visiting conservatories such as the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh or the Volunteer Park Conservatory here in Seattle.

I love the cactus collection!

A fixed wall in the front-left side of the building is added in Bag 15. This is in opposition to the right side of the building which has a fixed wall along the back side. I expect that the two missing walls will be removable so that you can easily rearrange the minifigure within and see inside. I do wish that the two sides that open up were visible from the same side for display purposes, though.

Bag 16 is brief, since it only includes the parts needed to build a matching flower bed for the left side of the building. The red flowers closest to the door are identical to the other side, and the orange flowers on the far left are unique. We also get a white bunny sitting on a gray stone.

A bunny is munching on some of the flowers in the left bed.

We add the front door in Bag 17. The entrance is flanked on either side using walls containing the same column technique we have seen throughout the model. The door itself uses the relatively new 1×6×6 Window/Door Frame (part 42205) which holds two narrow 3×6 Door (part 80683) elements.

The entrance is completed in Bag 18, which adds a roof to this section of the building. It includes a bay of skylights above the entrance and a nice iron filigree detail above the center. We wrap it up by landing a bird on the left side. Bag 19 adds the windows on either side of the entrance. Around back, we add a small fenced area with a single table behind the café. A red bird is waiting for someone to leave crumbs behind.

An ornate entrance is completed in Bags 17 and 18.

We finish the building’s floorplan in bag 20 by creating the two removable wall sections which allow us to cover front side of the café area and the back side of the cactus room. I like how everything looks so far, although I have grown quite tired of the column technique used on all four sides of the building.

Back of the model showing patio on left and removable panel to access the cactus garden on right.

We have just four upward-facing studs for each of the three main areas of the building, which I’m sure will be used to attach the removable roof sections to create the completed model.

The interior is complete!

Build Time: 108 minutes (Bag 11: 7 minutes, Bag 12: 16 minutes, Bag 13: 10 minutes, Bag 14: 8 minutes, Bag 15: 11 minutes, Bag 16: 6 minutes, Bag 17: 11 minutes, Bag 18: 14 minutes, Bag 19: 10 minutes, Bag 20: 15 minutes.)

Bags 21-22: Side Rooves

Bags 21 and 22 are nearly identical, resulting in a pair of roof sections for the smaller rooms on either end of the building. While there is an intricate frieze around the base of each module, the most important parts used to create the roof are four transparent curved panels. Two of a completely new part (part 5925) are used for the corners, and two of (part 5065) which was introduced earlier this year are used for the straight section.

Each side is covered by a small roof segment like this, although only one side has a bird’s nest.

The first assembly goes over the café. The second one goes over the cactus garden and includes heat lamps in the corners needed to keep the room really warm. You may also discover that something has created a nest on top of one of the two warm lamps.

Build Time: 20 minutes (Bag 21: 10 minutes, Bag 22: 10 minutes.)

Bag 23: Tall Trees

It’s finally time to add the two taller plants that we will insert into the 2×2 openings we created in the floor. The first has scraggly sand green leaves and a thorn; my best guess is that it is meant to be an acacia tree. The second is a slender palm tree that is very tall, giving us a better sense for the full height of the completed model.

The trees can be removed to make it easier to access the building interior.

Build Time: 13 minutes.

Bags 24-26: Central Roof

In Bag 24, we build one side of the frame which the removable roof will rest on. It repeats the decorative motif used in the two smaller roof sections, which is a bit tedious but looks good, leveraging 1×1 Tile, Heart (part 39739) in the detailing. Bag 25 is nearly identical, and in the final steps, we attach it to the section we built in the previous bag.

I had expected the large central roof section to take a lot longer, but we finish the whole thing in Bag 26. The roof is two-tiered, using four more of the new corner pieces for each of the two levels. The apex is simply adorned with a white strip and 2×3 w/ Cloud Edge (part 5518) — the same ornamental element we used on the smaller roof sections.

The large central roof is comprised of two layers of windows.

Build Time: 27 minutes (Bag 24: 9 minutes, Bag 25: 6 minutes, Bag 26: 12 minutes.)

Bags 27-29: Additional Exterior Decoration

With just three bags to go, Bag 27 is focused on a second row of flower beds which appear on the right side of the building. These ones appear in front of the small sidewalk, and use a variety of different parts to good effect. My favorite is the use of Banana Peel (part 5215) in 37Bright Green which creates three tapered leaves when used upside-down. Bag 28 adds a similar bed of flowers on the left side of the model.

A second row of flowers in front of the sidewalks.

The last two things we build are a large tree on the left side, and a two-tiered fountain on the right. The tree is a bit tricky to build because the it is hard to distinguish the 154Dark Red leaves, 38Dark Orange branches, and a 192Reddish Brown trunk in the building instructions. Those colors look different enough on plastic LEGO parts, but they look extremely similar in printed building instructions.

The fountain is straightforward, but I like that it includes a bird bathing in the fountain. I do wish they made it look like the bird was in the fountain instead of sitting on a white part that is sticking out from the center.

The completed model without minifigures highlights the architectural form.

Build Time: 42 minutes (Bag 27: 14 minutes, Bag 28: 11 minutes, Bag 29: 17 minutes.)

Minifigures

While minifigures are rarely the focus of my reviews, I wanted to include a nice photo of them because the set includes 12 of them in total. This is more than we tend to get in the Modular Building series, probably due to the ‘open’ nature of this build which allows you to pose figures both inside and outside.

There are 12 minifigures in this set.

There are a couple minifigures which I really like and wanted to highlight. We get two landscapers featuring the same overalls and legs, but with male and female heads and hair. We also get two children, both using the Minifigure Legs, Short Length (part 41879) — I do not understand why the poseable Medium Legs are so uncommon.

Lastly, I am excited to find a blind minifigure in the set. He is using a white Wand (part 36752a) as a walking cane. It’s always good to find more diverse characters represented in LEGO sets.

Value

Comparisons with #10326 Natural History Museum are useful in assessing the value of this set, and unfortunately, objective measures reveal that this set offers a poor value. This set offers 222 fewer pieces (5.5% less), 759.4 grams less weight (22.7% less), and costs $30 more (10% more).

#10326 Natural History Museum is the most comparable set currently being produced.

The only metric where there is a potential increase in value is in build time, at least as long as you equate more time to more value. Thanks to the staggering simplicity of the Natural History Museum, it took only 213 minutes for me to build whereas this set took 374 minutes – a 75% longer build time.

Comparisons against a wider selection of recent LEGO sets are even more unfavorable… just two sets that I’ve measured offer a worse price-per-gram! This is pretty shocking for an unlicensed set, since they do not need to pay somewhere around 10% of the purchase price to another company like Disney.

The only explanation that I can come up with for the high price is that the set does feature a lot of parts based on new moulds: The corner curved roof, the Peony, and the Tulip. Better still, you get a lot of these new parts in the set, which will make it popular with MOC builders who want to see how well these new parts work in building their own creations.

Conclusion

As I reflect on this model, I’ve decided that I like the finished model more than I enjoyed building it. The building techniques used to create the conservatory result in an aesthetically pleasing structure which looks the part – the simple styling is pretty believable as a real conservatory. Further, the choice to make the building white is very appropriate — that’s the color most of the visible ironwork in many conservatories are painted.

The completed model with a family getting ready to go inside.

That said, most of the conservatories I have visited are built out of almost exclusively glass held up with very thin ribs of iron or steel. Large masonry walls on all sides prevent too much natural light from entering the rooms.

By contrast, the arched windows and grand entrance would be perfectly reasonable if they were only used in functional areas of the building such as the entrance or restrooms. If I were to modify this model to make it more realistic, it would be appropriate to keep the grand entryway, but replace all of the exterior walls with bays of white windows with simple filigree detailing in the corners. The heavy cornice around the roofline would not make sense either because these lighter-weight walls would not be able to carry that heavy load.

It’s a bit difficult to see inside the model, but the plants on display are fitting of a Conservatory.

As for the wide range of plants both inside and outside of the model, I’m quite pleased. I do think there is a missed opportunity to teach builders about different plants from around the world in the building instructions, instead of requiring me to guess. This is a surprising omission given how the popular Botanicals collection teaches builders about different types of flowers by building them.

While it doesn’t look great on a modular street, this set does feel like it belongs in the modular universe thanks to nice detailing and classic architecture.

#21353 Botanical Garden is a nice set with some interesting new parts, but it’s a bit boring to build and is way overpriced. That’s why it only earns our Good (3/5 Star) rating. I do think a lot of people will purchase it despite this middling review because it’s a ‘modular adjacent’ set, and it includes a bunch of new parts. If you do end up buying it, happy building!