So what do we get?

The set consists of 1,072 pcs, including 3 minidolls. It retails for £74.99 / €84.99. The indicated age range is 12+. 

Packaging

In the box we get 7 numbered plastic bags. Unfortunately we’re still waiting on the paper replacements, even with the latest wave of sets. The instruction book and sticker sheet are protected by a big cardboard envelope. In the past I have had quite a few of those damaged so this is a great solution. The big trans-clear elements are in the bags together with other bricks, so unfortunately these were slightly scratched. 

The build and building techniques: 10/10

The start of the building process isn’t that great. In the first steps we’re immediately applying the stickers for Liann’s book. After that we build a small 4×4 picnic side build where aligning all the 1×1 tiles and plates is a bit annoying. After that the fun starts though. In the first bag we build the pond next to the building. This is a rather interesting build. It’s partly similar to the ‘Lunar New Year Ice Festival (80109) building technique. It’s a lot smaller of course which makes it less repetitive and there’s also ducks and plants in the pond which require a more detailed build. There’s also a clever way to attach the tree (which is saved until the final bag). With my MOCs I often knock trees over so I’ll definitely get back to this technique for my own builds. 

Bags 2-5 contain the building and interior while bags 6 and 7 are mostly 2 trees. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s building experience by giving away too much of the nice techniques. So instead here are some pictures from the progress. 

I noticed some extra care had gone into figuring the building order. When you expect to finish a section first, you’re actually jumping to another section to avoid repetition. For instance the tiling on the left side of the building is saved for later. Also, stickers are spread out through the build to give a more pleasant building experience. Most of the sets I build I get bored quite early on, which is why I don’t build that many sets anymore. This set however, I enjoyed from the second to the final page.

Playability: 10/10

There are 3 minidolls included in this set: Liann, Niko en Adi. For minidolls fans this might be too few, on the other hand it might broaden the appeal. People who don’t like minidolls might not be too bothered with 3. The butterflies in the dome can circle around which is the major play function. 

In the instruction book there’s an overview with all the flowers, plants and trees that are in the build. When building a flower, plant or tree there’s a picture and the official name. This adds an educational element but can also be considered as a play element. I think this is a really nice feature. 

Parts: 10/10  

Usually I would discuss parts first, since sets are often just part packs to me. With this set it felt like the right thing to get into this a bit later. When looking at the parts in the biggest quantities there’s some interesting picks. We get 27 bright pink leaves. This is the first time that this element is appearing in this color. We get 22 sand green 1x2x3 window frames and glass windows while the 1x2x2 frame in sand green is new in this colour and has 4 included. And of course we get a great number of white bricks, plates and tiles in various sizes. There are also quite a few posing stand elements (65578) included in both trans clear and green. Finally there’s a nice amount of trans light blue tiles, slopes, panels and bricks to create the pond and waterfall.  Of course this is just a brief summary. The point I want to make with this summary is that we get quite nice parts for making your own buildings making this set a great resource. 

There’s quite a few animal pieces in this set as well. We get 2 printed variations of the butterfly, ducks, Koi fish tiles (these occurred first in the 80107 Spring Lantern Festival) and a white bird that’s used as a decorative element in the fountain.

Then there’s the new and recolored parts. Some of these appear in other Summer 2023 sets, others are exclusive. The big trans clear panel and dome pieces are real eye catchers and made it possible to create the roofs. Most of the other parts are used to create the plants included in the build. The saxophone was one of the most surprising part choices for me. Finally the butterfly and duck recolors are really nice. The duck isn’t as cartoony as most Friends animals can be. Over the last few years I noticed some inconsistency in the printing quality. Luckily the butterflies are beautifully done, making these really desirable parts. 

In conclusion:

Is this really a Friends set? Had the minidolls been replaced with minifigures this set could have been sold as an Icons set. There have also been some LEGO Ideas submissions for a botanical garden. This set wouldn’t look out of place for those as well. The color palette is rather subtle for Friends and most of the stickers are done in a rather sophisticated style. The building techniques are interesting enough for advanced set builders and it’s elegant enough to be a display model. 

To be honest this set has everything I expect a LEGO set to be. The build has interesting techniques and is hardly ever repetitive. It’s educational in a fun way, teaching about several different flowers. The part selection is amazing, it includes some great new parts and recolours. It doesn’t have a lot of big parts that are less versatile for MOC building. And some very useful parts like the sand green windows come in great quantities. And last but not least the price is very reasonable. Based on piece count and quality of parts I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was a €110 set. I would have waited on a discount if that had been the case though. Since it’s quite a bit cheaper I feel this is amazing value for money. Considering the task of designing a 12+ Friends set with a broad appeal, this piece count and this price, I don’t think LEGO could have done any better. No matter if you consider this for a playset, display set for an AFOL collection or just a parts pack, I’ll recommend getting this one in all instances. 

Value for money: 10/10

How do you like this Botanical Garden set? Has it grown on you reading this review? Share your thoughts in the comments below!