Review: LEGO 41757 Botanical Garden

May 29, 2023 | 29

It’s not often that you come across LEGO sets that are simply put, a work of art but once you get the opportunity to build or see 41757 Botanical Garden in person, it quickly becomes apparent that LEGO has something incredibly special with this set.

With a generous reliance on curves, and a colour scheme that eschews Friends’ typical bright pastel-coloured palette for a stark, white aesthetic, the Botanical Garden’s Conservatory is simply put, breath-taking.

If you look at the box, you’ll also notice that the set’s recommended age is 12+, which means that it’s geared towards older and more experienced builders, so this set can absolutely be enjoyed by adults.

LEGO are a little delayed with sending my review copy out, but I was lucky enough to find one at my local Kmart, where it was already discounted to AU$109, a pretty significant discount to the set’s AU$140 RRP so I wasted no time in picking this up for my review.

Let’s take a closer look at the 41757 Botanical Garden which releases worldwide on 1 June 2023!

Who is this set for? Not just fans of LEGO Friends, but LEGO fans who want a beautifully designed Conservatory to display with plenty of Botanical elements and builds.

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for sending this set for review.

41757 Botanical Garden Set Details

Set Name: Botanical Garden
Set number: 41757
Pieces: 1,072
Minidolls: 3 (LIann, Niko, Adi)
Animals: Butterflies, Brown Ducks
Retail Price:  US$79.99 / AU$139.99 / £74.99 / €84,99 / CAD$99.99
Theme: Friends
Release Date: 1 June 2023

41757 Botanical Garden Minidolls

41757 Botanical Garden comes with 3 minidolls, which is a decent number for a set this size. It features Liann, the artistic skater, Niko, their friend from high school who’s on the football team, and Adi, who first made an appearance in 41732 Downtown Flower and Design Stores!

The minidolls are really well designed, but I particularly like Adi’s coral overalls and yellow floral top. It’s also nice to learn that Adi works in the Botanical Gardens.

Liann has a new top design as well with a mix of patterns, and I also like Niko’s stylish denim trucker jacket with the fur lining.

Here’s their back prints.

For accessories, Liann comes with a sketchbook, which has some drawings of the flora and fauna that she encounters at the Botanical Garden.

Niko has a camera, and a selfie stick, for I found it quite funny that instead of a camera screen, the phone instead has text messaging on it! Pretty sure you don’t need a selfie stick to text your friends!

41757 Botanical Garden Build

The build was incredibly fun, and as this is a 12+ set, you can expect LEGO Icons-esque levels of build techniques.

It’s medium-sized build, but I really enjoyed seeing the Conservatory take shape, which will be good news to LEGO fans that prefer more Architectural-style building. There are so many glorious curves and clever techniques used across the set, punctuated by mini Botanical builds as you stock the Conservatory with all manner of exotic plants and flowers.

In terms of LEGO builds go, it’s not hyperbolic to say that this is one of the finest LEGO Friends sets in terms of build experience, and if you were to ignore the minidolls, this would feel right at home in LEGO Icons.

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet, which features some really classy monochrome illustrations, and signs for the plants.

Here’s a look at the section within the Instructions Manual that features a guide to some of the plants and insects found in the build.

The scientific names of the plants and insects are featured here, which I think is a great learning tool for kids, and also to spotlight some of the exotic flora and fauna that inspired the build.

As you’re building the plants, there are these sections that identify what you’re building.

41757 Botanical Garden Completed Model

Here’s the completed LEGO Friends Botanical Garden and the conservatory structure is a sensational and breathtaking model that’s among one of LEGO’s finest.

It’s one of the most beautiful structures that LEGO have ever created, with a clean understated colour scheme, a generous helping of curves throughout the facade, and pops of vibrant colours via the landscaping the plum blossom tree on the right.

To the right of the greenhouse is a small pond, which features some lily pads, and some Lotus flowers (Nelumba Nucifera) blooming on the pond’s surface.

I really like the tan tiles that encircle the pond giving it its shape, and was quite impressed by the build techniques, which essentially use a mix of transparent bricks and panels, built sideways to allow you to see into the pond clearly.

Can you spot the lime green frog at the bottom of the pond?

These new brown ducks are also very cute and add a bit of life and movement to the scene.

The dominant feature on the outside near the duck pond is this large plum blossom tree. It makes great use of the large brown elbow pieces for a very organic-looking design, with plenty of pink blossoms enveloping the branches.

At the back of a tree is a small bench, which is great for minidolls to have a seat and relax in the tranquil setting. I also really like the pink leaves on the ground, as well as the blossom sprouts emerging from the trunk.

Over at the entrance is this lovely iron-wrought park bench where visitors can have a seat.

To the left is this large planted section with some Orchidae or Orchids, which are cleverly constructed using the new Fern element, and a mix of dark pink frogs and leaves, all of which combine to create a particularly organic botanical shape.

There are numerous nods to LEGO’s Botanical collection within the Botanical Garden, and the Orchid is a cool little reference to 10311 Orchid.

Tucked to the side of the building is this Bonsai Tree, which has its own raised pedestal. The Orchid again utilises some clever parts usage, this time the fur coat minifigure accessory in green, and is built upside down to create very convincing dense leaves.

There’s also a watering can nearby.

Again, the Bonsai Tree is a nice nod to the LEGO Bonsai set, which kicked off LEGO’s Botanical collection.

From this angle, you can really appreciate just how masterful the design is, which employs curves of different sizes for the windows. Large and small window panes are in use for the greenhouse design, and the facade employs plenty of curved tiles and arches, along with light tan accents.

There’s just so much glorious and masterful use of symmetry. The straight lines of the windows are juxtaposed nicely with the curved window arches.

The use of various transparent panes are also really pleasing to the eye, such as this curved panel used for the roof, allowing plenty of light to illuminate the interiors.

On the other side, there is a small fountain located on the roof, which then spills over into the duck pond via a waterfall.

The large transparent dome is the model’s most eye-catching fixture, and is constructed out of two of these large curved pieces, which were first introduced in the LEGO City Moon base.

I suspect that this transparent element will be incredibly popular with MOC Builders.

Here’s a look at the back which retains the LEGO Friends open Dollhouse-style heritage.

There is a large Frangipani (plumeria) tree in the middle of the structure, with benches surrounding it, allowing minidolls to also sit under it’s shade.

On the upper level, there’s a small nectar station here to attract butterflies.

Attached to the roof are these four butterflies, suspended from the ceiling and can even be slimmed to simulate the butterflies flying around the dome of the Conservatory.

We get a new blue butterfly variant here, which is just stunning, and possibly my favourite version of printed butterfly yet!

To the left is another nod to the LEGO Botanical Collectio’s Succulents, with an entire area dedicated to Cacti and Succulents!

Over on the side, there is a large section showcasing some of the more exotic plants and flowers curated by the Heartlake City Botanical Garden.

There are some gorgeous flower designs here, with exemplary use of elements. I especially love the design of the Rafflesia, the biggest flower in the world, native to the rainforests of Borneo and South East Asia.

It’s definitely an interesting selection to display at a Botanical Garden Conservatory… as it smells absolutely putrid, like a rotting corpse.

Speaking of Putrid flowers, right next to the Rafflesia is Amorphophallus titanum, which is native to Indonesian rainforests and is also known as the corpse flower because it too stinks like a rotting corpse.

And over at the end, there’s another LEGO Botanical collection nod with a Bird of Paradise!

What I liked:

• A mature, sophisticated and considered design
• Great supporting cast of minidolls even if they’re not the focus of this set
• Fun mini Botanical builds keep the build fresh
• Filled with a plethora of new and recoloured elements
• One of the most beautiful LEGO structures ever

What I didn’t like: 

• Absolutely nothing

Final Thoughts:

When you see the LEGO Friends Botanical Garden, it quickly becomes apparent that LEGO have something special on their hands with a design that’s simply beautiful.

When I first saw 41757 Botanical Garden months ago, I immediately knew that the Friends design team had once again, knocked it out of the park, and I already knew I was going to give this set a perfect 5/5 score.

It’s truly a mark of a mature theme, that LEGO could debut a tasteful design like this into LEGO Friends, but crafted in such a way that it will also have broad appeal to City builders, or even fans who want a stunning architectural masterpiece to display their minifigures or minidolls in.

The curves and symmetrical lines are just stunning to behold, with the Conservatory looking incredible from nearly every angle.

The interiors and deep focus on minidoll-scale Botanical builds are also a lovely nod to LEGO’s Botanical Collection, and showcases inventive usage of parts to re-create exotic flora at this scale.

Price-wise, the LEGO Botanical Garden benefits from being within the Friends theme, which means that it offers plenty of value without being slugged by the LEGO Icons/LEGO for adults pricetag. For just over 1000-pieces, I think LEGO have priced this really well, which says a lot as so much for the June 2023 releases tend to feel overpriced, and if you’re lucky enough to pick this one up on sale, it becomes an even more compelling buy.

This is hands down one of LEGO’s finest sets of 2023 and is all but assured to be received incredibly well by LEGO fans of all ages, and experience levels.

The all-white colour scheme is also very striking, and unlike anything you find in Heartlake City. Check it out next to some other recent LEGO Friends sets to see this in effect.

The Botanical Gardens’ sophisticated and well-considered design is just sublime, and moves the bar just a little higher of what it means to provide good LEGO Design at a compact size, without weighed down by an exorbitant pricetag.

And the fun doesn’t just stop here, as I think the open back and L-shaped design is an invitation for LEGO fans to buy more than one to create an even larger Conservatory by combining more sets together.

With so many amazing designs and sets being produced by Billund, 41757 Botanical Garden deservedly takes it’s place as one of the best LEGO sets of 2023 and I can heartily recommend this set to everyone, and I have a gut feeling that this will be one of the best-selling LEGO Friends set of the year.

Build [5] – Very engaging build with terrific use of curves and tiles for the architecture. Mini plants are also really fun with great element diversity.
Real Value [4] – Even at full price, this set packs a ton of value. If on sale, it quickly becomes a very compelling purchase
Innovation [5] – Architecturally, this set is unmatched at its price bracket, and demonstrates incredible potential for the LEGO Friends theme to house sophisticated designs like this
Coolness [5] – One of the coolest Friends sets ever, and one that has wide appeal thanks to it’s sublime design
Keepability [5] – Very easy on the eyes and very easy to display and will look great in Heartlake City or alongside modulars. You’re encouraged to expand the structure, or build out the Botanical Gardens.

Rating and score: 5/5 ★★★★★

Thanks for reading this review of 41757 Botanical Garden!

41757 Botanical Garden will be available from 1 June 2023 onwards from LEGO.com, your local LEGO store and most toy retailers.

If you plan on purchasing 41757 Botanical Garden please consider using the affiliate links found in the post to support the blog, as I may receive a small commission with each purchase.

What do you think of the Heartlake Botanical Garden? Will you consider picking it up in June?

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