Botanicals

Tiny Plants

A whole miniature greenhouse in nine little terracotta pots.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 10329 · 2023

Pieces758

Minifigsn/a

Year2023

Set number10329

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The verdict

I did not expect to fall for a set of nine little pots, but the carnivorous trio got me completely, especially the red sundew with its bristly dark red brushes.

This is the most collection-minded of the Botanicals, a group of tiny succulents, tropicals and meat-eaters that you scatter around a shelf rather than plonk in one big vase. It is charming and full of clever little parts tricks, but the honest catch is that a lot of the build is pots, and you build three of nearly everything. Get it if you love the Botanical line and small satisfying models. Skip it if you want one showstopper centerpiece.

Best for: Botanical Collection fans who like small, giftable display pieces they can spread around a room

The full review

What it is

Tiny Plants is exactly what the name promises and then a little more than you expect. It is a 758-piece set from LEGO's Botanical Collection that builds into nine miniature plants, each sitting in its own little terracotta pot. They come in three families, arid ones like the pincushion cactus and prickly pear, tropicals like the jade plant, false shamrock and laceleaf, and my favorites, the carnivorous trio of Venus flytrap, red sundew and pitcher plant. The first one I finished was the sundew, and those bristly dark red brushes standing in for its sticky tentacles honestly made me grin. Unlike the big botanical vases, these are not meant to live together in one arrangement. You spread them out, a couple on the windowsill, one on the desk, one by the kettle, and they quietly make a room feel loved.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the catch that every reviewer landed on, because it is fair. This set is more pot than plant. A large share of the pieces and most of the actual building time goes into constructing those terracotta pots, and the plants themselves can feel like the smaller event. On top of that, each of the three categories gives you a small, medium and large pot, which means you build three versions of very similar things, and by the third pot in a group the novelty has worn thin. For an 18-plus set it is also a quick and gentle build with no real engineering puzzle to chew on. At around 50 dollars for 758 pieces the value is perfectly reasonable, but manage your expectations, this is a relaxing afternoon and a shelf of small charmers, not a challenge.

Who it's for

So who will actually love this one. If you already collect the Botanical line and you like the idea of little models you can dot around the house or hand to a friend, this is a delight and it plays beautifully with the flower sets you already own. Parts hunters will get a kick out of it too, since it is packed with unexpected recolors. But if you are the builder who lives for clever mechanisms and one big centerpiece moment, or you specifically want a lush plant with minimal plain pot construction, this is not the set that will thrill you. Know which of those two people you are and the decision makes itself.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building Tiny Plants is a calm, low-pressure evening rather than a marathon. Because it divides so neatly into three self-contained groups, it is one of the easiest sets to share, you can hand a bag each to two other people and all build in parallel. The plants are the fun part, each one is surprisingly intricate for its size and uses small elements in playful ways, so there are little pockets of delight. The pots are honest, repetitive brickwork, sturdy and tidy but not where the excitement lives, and building three sizes in each category is where the fatigue creeps in.

The real treat here is the recolor list. This set is a showcase of parts in shades you rarely see them in. There are lime green 4x4 dishes, dark red brush elements standing in as the sundew's grabbing hairs, bright pink epaulettes forming a flower, plus newly recolored 1x4 bricks, fresh fern pieces and recolored cake-icing parts giving the Venus flytrap its jaws. For anyone who builds their own creations, that inventory alone is a strong argument, you are getting a colorful, unusual grab bag of useful elements alongside the finished models. There are no minifigures, this is purely a display and parts set.

Fun facts

01The set splits into three self-contained groups (arid, tropical and carnivorous) specifically so up to three people can build it together at the same time.
02It contains nine separate miniature plants, including a Venus flytrap, red sundew and pitcher plant in the carnivorous group.
03Reviewers widely nicknamed it 'more pot than plant' because the terracotta pots eat up the bulk of the piece count and build time.
04The printed instruction booklets include real botanical facts about each plant, so you learn a little about the real species as you build.