Tag Archives: Gardens

Not just your garden greenhouse

If you’ve never been to a botanical garden, you should go. As a kid, the first one I ever visited was the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Canada. I recall feeling like I had entered a wonderland. And as I saw the greenhouses, I realized I would never look at them the same way again. Since then, of course, I have been exposed to many large gardens and massive greenhouses, but I’ll never forget the beginning. This LEGO build by Kris Kelvin (Montgomery Burns) reminds me of that experience. It may be mostly veggies as opposed to flowers, but those big greenhouses sure are striking!

The huge display is filled with nice element usage, especially through the implementation of minifigure parts and accessories. There are also a couple of fun touches for those keen to investigate closely. Although it’s not a new technique, I’m personally fond of the fence design. Apparently, this will be part of an even larger diorama, which we can’t wait to see in its entirety! In the meantime, check out some of this builder’s other excellent work.

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Stacked terraced garden habitats

Are you aware of the phenomenon called Minifig Habitats? It’s essentially an 8x8x8 diagonal vignette that can be stacked and interlocked to form a pyramid display. However, there is a more popular habitat style that isn’t diagonal and has less open space. These habitats first appeared on Flickr in 2016 and were popularised by LEGO fan sites in the last few years. Since then, they became a nice way for people to show off LEGO Collectible Minifigures in a small dynamic display. Kristel Whitaker takes it to the next level by reimagining minifig habitats into a diorama of a pergola, a balcony, and a potting shed.

The white structures provide a bright canvas for plants to grow on and make the diorama clean and minimalist. In addition, the nougat flooring brings a lovely warm contrast to the blue backdrop of Kristel’s photo. There’s plenty of other colours as well, from the yellows and pinks of the flowers to the blues and reds of the potting shed in the lower right habitat. All of these come together in a concise diorama that are clearly different parts of the same house.

Want to build your own minifig habitats? Here is the template.

Walking in a garden of peace

“Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.” That quote from American poet Walt Whitman perfectly describes what we see here in builder vincentkiew‘s creation.

Walking through this scene must have been just as relaxing as building it. I really admire the roof work on the gazebo and the house, using various pieces to give an illusion of texture. The flower pots by the beautifully-crafted doors could not be built better.

The lily pads with flowers serve as a calm reminder to the walking wise man of the fragility of life. Perhaps this whole build reminds us all of the peace that comes to the soul when taking a solitary stroll.

Creature of an enchanted garden

If you find yourself in a magical land, watch where you step. Amongst the alluring, translucent blue flowers hides a curious creature. Exceptional LEGO builder, Patrick Biggs brings this little character to life in a captivating way. An expressive face paired with a dynamic pose and uniquely contrasted foliage demand a second look. You can build a pretty flower or a cute dragon, but telling a story with the two is what makes this build interesting. I’m particularly fond of the parts usage in the head shaping of the dragon, as well as the Bionicle head elements used for the petals.

While you’re here, you can check out a few of Patrick’s other builds, as well as more dragons!

It’s spring, springtime again

This past spring was pretty memorable, to say the least, but here’s to a more hopeful beginning. So what better way to celebrate the incoming season than a floral LEGO build that won’t cause a fit of pollen allergies? There’s much to love about the House of Flowers Konoyaro, from its striking dark red brickwork to its smaller details, like the Unikitty lupines. And aside from the Tudor-esque jettied and structural walls, the house is virtually void of 1x bricks. Instead, Konoyaro has opted for a variety of plate techniques, most notably stacked at the corners for a meticulous brick texture effect. You can also find more plates staggered at the base of the small bay window and surprisingly, in the loosely sculpted trees upfront. But my favorite detail by far is the brick-built front door. It’s a classy alternative to prefabricated doors that I’ll be taking note of for future inspiration.

We’re no stranger to Konoyaro’s vibrant and textural brick building style. Dive into our archives to find their Little Mermaid build we’ve featured this past September!

Small autumn garden, or maybe not so small at all

Kris Kelvin calls this creation a small autumn garden and I have to disagree with him on the small part. However, it is a really nice build, and it makes me realize that I probably should attend to my garden a bit more as it looks nowhere near as maintained as this LEGO garden does. Over the years, LEGO has released lots of fruits and vegetables. We’ve got cherries, apples, carrots, bananas, and pumpkins. But what is more fun than building your own vegetable plants? Kris used lavender studs with 3 leaves to create red cabbage or is it lollo rosso lettuce. He also made cauliflower using the same leaves part in green and a white swirl brick. And then there is the egg used as a white eggplant. Last but not least there are a lot of minifigure hair parts used as lettuce or cabbage, something LEGO has been doing for a while now too. I might have it all wrong, but this is how I identify the vegetables in this garden. What vegetables do you recognize?

Quiet days in the garden

Sometimes the simplest builds are the best. Jonas Kramm is a talented and versatile LEGO artist who consistently delivers excellent creations, big and small. He is currently doing a vignette series, and this one is my recent favorite. There are so many cute details packed into a little space. The rabbit hutch, birdhouse, gnome, and picket fence are all so cleverly crafted. In particular, using skis for fence boards is a brilliant idea. Alongside the satisfyingly white-trimmed shed, it all fits perfectly.

While you’re here, you can check out all of Jonas’ latest builds in our archives. (Including the first three vignettes in this series.)

Longing for a return to Japan

Many years ago, builder aukbricks lived in Japan. Although they haven’t returned yet, there’s a seed of yearning that has grown into an evocative virtual creation. The central focus is a suitcase that contains a visit to a garden filled with greenery and sakura blossoms. The inside lid is a mosaic of more blooms and buildings in the distance; the blockier texture giving the illusion of depth from a slightly out-of-focus background. There’s also a guide book and a luggage tag that features features a brick-built Kanji for longing, a character which also carries the meanings of “yearn for” and “adore”.

Stepping into the garden, you can imagine a walk along the cobblestone path leading to the bridge over the stream. It feels just as peaceful and relaxing as you could hope for.

Consisting of nearly 6,500 bricks, this digital build only uses parts in LEGO-released colors. Longing may be a dream, but it’s nice to know it could become reality, too.

This quiet gardener’s retreat deserves a double take

Have you ever played one of those games where you look at an image and find the hidden details? They used to be in magazines, but these days there are loads of apps for them. And now, there’s even a 3D LEGO version! This greenhouse, built by César Soares, is a hidden-gem masterpiece. While there are lots of LEGO creations with incredible parts usage, this one goes above and beyond, and may be one of my absolute favorites!

No spoilers! Take a moment to scan the whole thing, and read below once you get stumped. Can’t remember where you last saw that part? We’ll fill you in on a couple of those hard-to-pinpoint pieces!

Click here to discover which items you may have missed

Business is budding at Bricks & Blooms

Sometimes I wish I could water my LEGO collection, give it some sunlight, and watch it grow. After harvesting the bricks, I would build this beautiful garden centre designed and rendered by Bricked1980. It fits right in with the LEGO Group’s existing series of modular buildings. The builder has made excellent use of color, with vibrant green vines and shrubbery set against the architecture’s earth tones and white trim. I particularly like the sunflower hanging above the entrance, as well as the use of lime green minifigure afro hair for topiary bushes

Click to see more details about Bricks & Blooms

A chocolate box cottage scene

The phrase chocolate box cottage is a peculiar British saying that dates back to a time when biscuits, toffees and other treats were sold in packaging depicting country idylls. Builder Emil Lidé has run with the idea, creating an archetypical black and white timber-framed cottage. From the bowed roof that meets at a pleasingly crooked LEGO chimney, to the authentic thatch made from an array of tan bars and clips, he’s captured the essence of the English countryside. I can just imagine taking tea in the garden with a slice of Victoria sponge cake, and in spirit, I’m in England.

Under the cherry blossoms

The cherry tree in blossom has a particular significance in Japanese culture, acting as a metaphor for the Buddhist idea of the transience of life. As a result, Ayerlego’s choice to showcase the vibrant pink blooms in his LEGO recreation of an elegant Japanese garden adds an extra level of authenticity to his build. The tree is expertly constructed, carefully arranging its multiple flower stem elements to create the symbolically significant firework-like burst of colour. Setting it against well-selected additions such as the ornamental fish statuettes at the bridgehead, and kimono girl mini-figure completes an aesthetically pleasing display of traditional Japanese life.