LEGO Botanicals has already got a reputation for being a source of handy new parts and recolours – and it's only getting more common.
The process of getting a new LEGO part is a tough process, with LEGO designers only allowed to request a certain number of 'frames' for recolours and new pieces each year. While LEGO Botanicals sets have been known to debut quite a few new parts or colours, LEGO designer Theo Bonner revealed that the Botanicals team has historically been borrowing new parts from other themes.
"What we spend a lot of our time doing is looking at what new elements are coming down the line," he explained. "We don't actually make that many elements. Realistically, the element here that is purely Botanicals is this pointed leaf [debuting in 11501 Tulip Bouquet], which we do use a lot.
"Other elements that appear in Botanicals were originally developed for Mario's Donkey Kong wave, or for LEGO DREAMZzz's Z-Blob. We're always looking at what new elements are coming and seeing how we can use them."
However, LEGO Botanicals is proving to be one of the most popular new LEGO themes, especially among the ever-growing adult market. As more and more Botanicals sets hit shelves, Theo went on to note that the team is now starting to design its own pieces.
"In the case of the new leaf in 11501 Tulip Bouquet, we really tried everything we could think of to get a tapered, elegant leaf that fit the quality of LEGO Botanicals," he said. "The amazing rose, created by Chris McVeigh using existing pieces, sets the calibre for a lot of the work we do today.
"There are really only two Botanical elements made for us in particular. We are hypercritical of not going the route of continually creating new flowers. There were so many arguments about the exact shape and how it fit into the LEGO system."
That approach of making do with what elements are already out there has led to some seriously creative parts usage over the years, but now it's time for LEGO Botanicals to start making its own elements. Knowing how useful it is to collaborate on new parts between themes, the Botanicals LEGO theme made a point of working with other LEGO teams to make the parts as handy as possible.
"We went to other projects to ask if they have a use for this," Theo explained. "The new element for the tulips was made in conjunction with a bunch of other teams to see how we could make it as cool as possible for other teams, which helped us to decide to make it in a material that can be transparent. We figured it would have tons of use, perhaps as a cockpit – and it's actually already in use in a bunch of other sets.
"In some ways, this was our attempt at needing a Botanical element and looking at how to make it as universal as possible."
Four new LEGO Botanicals sets, along with their new parts, will launch on January 1, 2026.
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