Since first launching in 2021 as part of the LEGO Icons theme, the LEGO Botanical Collection has consistently produced high-quality, realistic models of popular plants like 10311 Orchid and 10289 Bird of Paradise. While the plants themselves are the stars, the vases and pots have been pretty great too. This summer’s wave of sets is no exception, with the first two sets being the chrysanthemum and the plum blossom. These two flowers are part of four iconic Chinese flowers known as the four gentlemen, one representing each season. We’ll be taking a look at the spring flower first, represented by the chrysanthemum. LEGO Botanical Collection 10368 Chrysanthemum comprises 278 pieces and will be available on August 1st for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts and instructions
The set comes in a black, 18+ branded box with the finished plant against a slight orange glow to match the color scheme of the chrysanthemum. Along the bottom of the box is the usual strip of LEGO elements color-matched with the sand-green vase. The “Botanical Collection” theme branding is accompanied by four icons — two from the chrysanthemum and plum blossom set, and two more featuring bamboo that could indicate the next two sets in the theme. The back of the box includes a diagram of the set dimensions as well as an inset image of the real flower.
Inside the box are three paper parts bags of various sizes and an instruction booklet.
The booklet includes some special content in the form of a beautiful watercolor-style illustration, photos of the real flower, and additional information about the set design.
There are four large curved slopes in quarter circles used to form the underside of the pot.
The build
We start by building the vase and stand, which is a delightfully simple design meant to evoke wood, with curved horse tail elements in reddish-brown for the feet. The curved elements used for the vase attach to four studs oriented upside-down using the inkpot element in a very clever way.
The vase is then accented with a band of gold attached using bricks with studs on two sides. Next, the vase is topped with large curved quarter-circle slopes.
The last part of the vase is a small center assembly including three stems in dark green is added to complete the vase.
From here, the stems are built up using Technic connectors, and two small buds are added, made with orange cupcake bases.
The smaller of the two large blossoms is next, built with a bunch of orange claw elements attached to red-orange octagonal parts.
The larger blossom is built similarly to the smaller one but uses banana elements in three shades of orange (36 in total).
The finished model
The finished plant is very realistic in design, and the bright colors contrasted with the darker green stem and leaves make it a nice display set.
Compared with LEGO 10369 Plum Blossom, the vase and stand designs are very similar and the sets display well together. The chrysanthemum is slightly shorter, but in my opinion, the perfect height for this LEGO flower.
Conclusions and recommendations
If you’re a fan of the LEGO Botanical Collection, or you just like chrysanthemum flowers, then this set is for you. The many shades of orange used in the large blossom capture the iconic look of these flowers as they grow and bloom. The vase is very well designed and combines with the wooden base for a traditional aesthetic.
LEGO Botanical Collection 10368 Chrysanthemum comprises 278 pieces and will be available on August 1st for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99
Finally, if you’re interested in building your own botanical creation inspired by these sets and you plan on attending Brickcon 2024 in Bellevue, Washington in September, consider registering your MOC under the Brothers Botanical collaboration.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
