LEGO Ideas 21353 The Botanical Garden officially revealed

The LEGO Group has officially unveiled the next LEGO Ideas set, 21353 The Botanical Garden, based on a submission by fan designer Valentina Bima.

Situated on a pair of 32×32-stud baseplates, 21353 The Botanical Garden drops the original design’s immediate compatibility with modular buildings in favour of a standalone structure that can nevertheless slot into a LEGO city built on traditional baseplate elements. It’s a halfway house approach that 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion has rejected (where it might have been preferable for a standalone mansion typically depicted in country grounds) in favour of butting up to other buildings.

That’s the headline news for 21353 The Botanical Garden, but what about the nitty gritty details? Well, it’s the second-biggest LEGO Ideas set yet with 3,792 pieces (which puts it between 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale and 21330 Home Alone), and will match the X-Mansion’s RRP at £289.99 in the UK, $329.99 in the US and from €329.99 in Europe.

It also boasts the second-most minifigures in any LEGO Ideas set yet (just behind 21336 The Office) at 12 unique characters, including four staff members and a sprinkling of visitors. There are also a bunch of fauna joining the set’s ample flora – more on that in a sec – including a dog, squirrel, rabbit, beetle and four birds. What you’re really coming to any botanical garden for though are its flowers, and 21353 The Botanical Garden apparently includes over 35 different plant species.

“I’ve been a fan of LEGO building since I was a child, and wanted to create a design that combined my love for botanical gardens and my favourite element – all transparent elements,” fan designer Valentina said. “The elements of this colour allow you to break down the external-internal border; the transparent elements allow you to build buildings, vehicles, spaceships or anything you can imagine with a pleasant and captivating external shape allowing you to see the internal details and the LEGO minifigures.”

The sprawling glasshouse consists of three different atriums, the biggest of which incorporates a spiral staircase that leads to an observation deck. The smaller atriums pack in an arid garden of cacti and a café for the visitors. The exterior is covered in plants that make strong use of the LEGO Group’s broad part palette, and the gardeners are equipped with brick-built tools to maintain the grounds.

21353 The Botanical Garden launches November 1 for LEGO Insiders and November 4 for everyone else. Early adopters will receive a bonus gift-with-purchase, 5009005 Botanicals Entrance Gate, when buying the latest LEGO Ideas set from November 1 to 7 (or while stocks last). The LEGO Group has not supplied any images of that one ahead of time, though…

LEGO set	Price	Pieces	Release date
21353 The Botanical Garden	£289.99 / $329.99 / €329.99	3,792	November 1 (Insiders), November 4 (wide), 2024

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