Sorry about the interruption to this series: Our local major event intervened. Brickvention 2026 was great fun, and just a little bit exhausting. Today, we complete our reviews of the January 2026 Botanicals releases, and present the final installment of our interview with Senior Designer Theo Bonner, in which we take a moment to discuss the pink roses bouquet, and why it wasn’t just a clone of the red roses; see what made a collection of designers get up and take a look at what their colleague had achieved, and ponder whether the Botanicals sets just don’t feature enough Spinjitsu. Or do they?

Then we will take a closer look at the Flowering Cactus, another of the 2026 Botanical selection. This set has 482 parts and is aimed at builders aged 9 and up. It is priced at $AUD99.99 / $USD49.99 / 59.99 € / £54.99.

Interview With Theo Bonner: Part IV

As we continued our conversation, (you can read more here, here and here), I asked Theo about 2025’s Bouquet of Pink roses – not quite a copy of the red rose bouquet from over 18 months before…

Roses: Pink or Red?

The Rambling Brick: Moving on to the, some might say cynical, recolouring of the Red Rose Bouquet: I know that there were some changes made between the [red and pink versions]. I did notice that the final rose, was using the modified form that appeared in the (10342) Pretty Pink Bouquet. But it did otherwise appear to be close to a brick for brick rebuild of the [red] rose bouquet. The red one had apparently been one of the best selling LEGO sets of 2023, so what triggered the change? Or do you not have any feeling for what triggered the change in that one flower? Was it because it was felt to be a better building experience? 

Theo Bonner: I think that in that case, I’m trying to remember back, I think that was the reason. I remember when we discussed it, it was not just a one-to-one translation. There was something with the red rose bouquet where we’ve gotten some feedback on the stability of one of the roses. The way it was built was just not quite nice, and we thought we could do it a little bit better. So, you know, when we were talking about doing a recolor…

The Rambling Brick: The leaves were more stable in the redo. (and that particular flower is a lot nicer)

Theo Bonner: That’s right. The pink bouquet exists for all the reasons you listed. It was really interesting when the pink bouquet came out, because I was initially a little skeptical of such a literal kind of recolor. And I saw comments that were like, “Oh, I skipped the red rose bouquet because red roses are not my style, but pink, I mean, I’m getting this”.

I did not realize how opinionated people are about rose colours. There are people who absolutely dislike red roses, calling them cliche and tacky. They can be very mean about poor red roses. But pink roses? They were like, “Now, that’s what I’m interested in.” So it ended up being, I think, credit to our creative lead (Fiorella Groves) . She said, “I think we should do this.”

 And I think it was the right call, because there are a number of people who immediately wrote off the red roses, but are on board for the pink roses. And also, the red roses did really, really well. So we wanted to make sure we had something like that for Valentine’s Day. And yeah, in this year,

The Rambling Brick:  Well, they came out sort of September,-October, 25 – So a much greater lead time, in fact, coming into Valentines day.  [The red roses] were delightful for me, because they arrive to be reviewed between Christmas and New Year, and that’s when my wedding anniversary was.

Inspiring Creativity:

The Rambling Brick: We are seeing Creativity for builders being inspired by pulling apart and putting together the sets in Creator 3in1, and partially dismantling a model in Dreamzzz to take it in a different direction.

Theo Bonner: But the Dreamzzz model – the base model and then an A version and a B version, I think that was actually a huge success. Dreamzzz was realizing that a lot of people were doing exactly what we wanted, which was build the version you want, take it apart because you’re not taking part the whole model, in the same way that you are with Creator 3in1. That’s a big hurdle for people to get past, for sure. Having some sort of decoration that you kind of take apart and then you can rebuild into the other version. We saw a lot of people, a lot of kids, and a lot of people just actually doing that, which was really exciting. So I think we’re very aware of of the success that Dreamzzz had in that regard. So I think, you know, keep your eyes peeled, but Botanics feels like a really smart theme for us to maybe transfer that to in some way, yeah, for the models, the next few years

[We have now seen the 11503 Flower Wall Revealed, which can be rearranged using other bouquets, or even attaching multiple lattices in different ways.]

Designing the cactus:

The Rambling Brick:

 Onto the cactus: just can I say I found that I really loved the ways that were found to create an eight way axis, at two scales. Including one with such a narrow body,: Jolly Clever!

Theo Bonner: It was a big challenge, I can tell you, for the original model was made by Adam Vaughan, and then it was finished by a member of our team, Lada, and that was a big struggle, figuring out exactly how to get that kind of rounded form factor in such a tight little space. It’s really satisfying how it comes together. I remember when she cracked it, and everyone came over to try putting it together, and was like, “Oh, that’s really nice.”

The Rambling Brick:

I had a little trouble with one of the spines flicking off, but obviously, I’m gonna put it back on.

Theo Bonner: Yeah. It’s, like, the beauty of LEGO, yeah? I mean, we really try and make it stable, but there is a certain point where we’re like, “it’s bricks.” If it comes apart, you should be able to put it back together. That’s the goal.

The Rambling Brick:

Yeah, yeah. So I found that really satisfying build, plus the use of some of those new quarter circle two by two circle plates, and also that new inverse foot plate. So when we think of the foot plate, it’s the one that came out in Minecraft. Initially, it’s a two by two plate with a two by two plate in the middle there. So you can put two plates there, two plates there, and you’ve got a cube. And now we’ve got sort of the version that goes at the top. So it goes to a studs, rather than anti studs? Yeah, on the foot plate. 

Theo Bonner: Oh interesting. We consider that a bracket. We don’t consider it a plate, Minecraft plate, but it, I see what you mean. It is essentially the inverted Minecraft brick. It’s a bracket because that’s a half plate, not a full plate.

The Rambling Brick: Now I know! That that did mess with my head somewhat. The geometry isn’t quite as isn’t quite as satisfying at the end point. ( Five plates thick in 2 dimensions, 6 in the other.)

Theo Bonner: I believe that was a City element that they developed. And that’s the thing, is, I think, for 2026, we made three, maybe four elements. So yep, everything else is stuff we’ve shamelessly plundered from other projects. 

The Rambling Brick: Oh, and that tiny wheel?

Theo Bonner:The tiny wheel that is one we made.

The Rambling Brick: That is one of yours? Okay, I was wondering if I was missing a new scale of car that I hadn’t seen yet, like Jack Stone.

Theo Bonner Oh, bring back Jack Stone. That’d be fun.

No, that one we made, partly because the build that I did in the plum blossom with the Sonic ring stem through it – It wasn’t a great build experience, and it wasn’t particularly good at what we were using it for. You know that that big hole, the hole at the bottom next that you can never really get the petals lined up the way you wanted to, because they were always a little off. We we always struggle with making five petal flowers, because the LEGO system does not love the number five. So, that element is a way for us to make that easier. And also, whenever we make an element to make building a bit easier, it means that it opens up opportunities at the lower age range of Botanicals as well, which is great.

The Rambling Brick: It makes such a good spinning top. 

Theo Bonner: Oh, does it? Oh, I have to go back to my desk and test that. 

The Rambling Brick: So, yeah, just put a bar in it. …and the other one is that the wider one – the wider round one. And the steering wheel that you can put an axle through. You can embrace the same play features that we otherwise get from Ninjago. Yeah, you’ve come full circle.

Theo Bonner: Yeah, Spinjitsu coming soon to a Botanical set near you. That’s what we were missing, actually, was spinjitsu.

The Rambling Brick: Yes, that’s what we were missing, yeah. I just found that I was trying to get the set built, and I got distracted, yeah, for about an hour, just spinning tops.

Theo Bonner: And, yeah, that’s, that’s honestly like, that’s, that’s really nice to hear. I love when people just get distracted from building. I would love it if more people didn’t just follow the instructions and built their own thing and then maybe built it the way the instructions tell them to, but maybe they don’t, you know, make it your own.

The Rambling Brick: Theo, thank you so much for your time!

Theo Bonner: Thanks my pleasure.,

11509 Flowering cactus

Set 11509 Flowering cactus is aimed at younger builders, aged 9 and up

The Elements.

The elements include a collection of curved bricks and plates in bright light blue, along with come curved bricks and slopes, without studs. Unfortunately the colour consistency is less than ideal between some of these blue elements, perhaps more obvious as we build up the pot.. 

The other colour in abundance is sand green – 1xn plates, baby bows (1×2 curved slopes) and 1×1 dual slope bricks. There is also a dark green steering wheel, along with a new 5-spoked wheel: 3 studs wide, in sand green: The LEGO System doesn’t do multiples of fif readily, so this is great. Unfortunately, I got distracted by inserting a bar down the middle and playing with it like a spinning top for an hour or so…

Spinjitsu time

Botanicals don’t have enough Spinjitzu included in their play value. This might need to change. with so many round forms, as well as so many different bars available, I found myself experimenting for a while…

Perhaps my favorite form was the new 5 spoke wheel, with a 2 module pin through it.

But I digress. Lets get back on track…

The Build

We start by building up a 4 sided pot – well, the top half, and a bottom half. A new(to me) 2×2/2×2 bracket – kind of the opposite of a Minecraft ‘foot plate’ – allows us to create a block that will attach these halves of the pot, back to back. Studs up and studs down.

The cacti are really clever: set up on a short, central axle, add a windlass with 4 panels going up, and a connector on the end of the axle. A similar construction – short axle, panels attached to the windlass, and turn these axles at 45 degrees to each other. The panels fit between each other, and there was much rejoicing. Now repeat it using a central bar going into a connector, and a shorter cactus.

Frankly, I thought this technique was genius! Texture is added using sort ‘twig’ type stems, then we add our flowers to the top: interspaced shields and road signs (I love the botanical recolours) on the large, and smaller floral elements on the other one. the flowers around the top of the larger cactus are attached to a steering wheel, while the new small 5spoked wheel serves this role on the smaller

In conclusion

This set demonstrates some really interesting building techniques – both for the stud reversal in the pot, and the ‘8 way’ folds on the two cactus plants. I’m a little over pale blue – i feel it has been getting overused between creator 3in1 and a few other sets in the past 12 months, and it is starting to suffer from the same inconsistencies as medium blue did in the past.

I found construction of the cactus plants to be really clever, in a ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ kind of way!

I’m happy to give it 4/5 arbitrary praise units. It is let down by the colour inconsistency, but held up by the new parts, neat usage, stud reversal techniques and that clever way of lining up the cactus’ bodies.

The Botanicals 11509 Flowering Cactus is aimed at 9+ builders and has 482 pieces. It goes on Sale on January 1, 2026 and is priced at  $AUD99.99 / $USD49.99 / 59.99 € / £54.99. this set was provided by the LEGO Group, but all opinions are my own.

I hope you have enjoyed this series.

My Reviews of the initial 4 releases from the botanicals range in 2026, and my interview with Senior Designer Theo Bonner can be found here:

• Tulips
• Peace Lily
• Daisies
• Cactus

Special thanks to the Adult Engagement Team at the LEGO Group for facilitating this Interview.

We will be taking a look at what happens when you get a little carried away looking at botanical sets, as well as the new 11503 Flower Wall Real Soon.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!