Theo Bonner

Botanicals Review and Interview IV: 11509 Flowering Cactus

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A LEGO set featuring the 11509 Flowering Cactus on a wooden shelf, showcasing two cacti with flowers in a blue pot.

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.

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Botanicals Interview and Review III: 11508 Daisies

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A bouquet of LEGO flowers including daisies and lavender displayed in a round glass vase on a wooden shelf, with text overlay featuring the title '11508 Daisies Review' and a promotional note about Theo Bonner.

Its time for the third part of our interview with Theo Bonner. If you have missed out on the previous parts, you can catch up with them in our review for the 11501 Tulip Bouquet and the 11504 Peace Lily. Before taking a look at the 11508 Daisies, one of the 9-plus sets in the latest Botanical wave, Theo and I talk about the new colours to be found in the January Releases as well as the importance of Storytelling, even in sets that might not have an obvious narrative.

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Botanicals Interview and Review II: 11503 Peace Lily

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A LEGO model of the 11504 Peace Lily, featuring green leaves and white flowers, displayed on a wooden shelf with a plain background.

Earlier in the month I was visiting Denmark, and had the opportunity to visit the LEGO Campus and have a conversation with LEGO Botanicals senior designer, Theo Bonner. In part one, we discussed recolours and the rationale behind new elements being developed in the Botanical theme. Last time, we spoke recolours and the introduction of new elements in Botanical sets.

Today, we discuss the flowerpot design in the 11503 Peace Lily, the fan base for LEGO Botanicals, designing 18+ sets for builders who have never built a LEGO set in their lives before and discover something what LEGO Star Wars and Botanicals have in common.

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Botanical Insights: Interview and Review – 11501 Tulip Bouquet

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A vibrant display of a LEGO Tulip Bouquet set, featuring colorful tulip flowers in various shades, arranged in a clear glass vase on a wooden surface. The image includes text indicating a review of the set and mentions an interview with designer Theo Bonner.
A smiling person with glasses and a beard, wearing a plaid shirt, is seated against a backdrop of textured fabric and tree-themed artwork.
Theo Bonner, Senior Designer, LEGO Botanicals

In December, 2025 I had the good fortune to visit LEGO Campus in Billund, Denmark. While there, I had the chance to talk with Theo Bonner – One of the Senior Designers working on LEGO’s Botanicals Theme. During the 45 minutes that we spoke, we covered a variety of topics including the challenges of flowerpots, new colours, storytelling the Botanicals consumer base, storytelling and the lack of Spinjitzu in Botanical sets.

Today, in the first of our four reviews of upcoming Botanical releases, we will take a look at the 11501 Tulip Bouquet, and in our interview extract, we talk about the challenges of recolouring certain elements, the new curved slope element and its connection to a space theme from around the turn of the century.

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