The theme for this event’s MOC building competition was inspired by LEGO’s recent announcement of the release of Set 21353 The Botanical Garden. After making several fantasy builds in a row, I knew we were going to have a great time creating a realistic diorama.

At the center of our botanical garden is a gazebo where parkgoers can sit and simply enjoy the view. Behind a large potted flower is a stained glass window with Peach’s silhouette. To decorate the roof edges of our gazebo, we used open studs to attach the bar ends of pearl gold stems to the underside of the roof. Finally, we added flowering vines to the sides of the gazebo to make it extra bright and colorful.

To one side of the gazebo is a lively stream teeming with aquatic plants, frogs, and fish. Park goers can cross this stream and relax under the shade of a young narra. We love the fact that LEGO’s bright light orange pieces matches the color of narra blossoms so closely! Today, a young woman is enjoying reading a book (of spells?) while sitting on the grass as narra petals fall beside her.

On the opposite side of the stream is a short walkway surrounded by a lush botanical garden. We really made an effort to make this garden as vibrant as possible, packing a rich palette of colors and diverse plant types in two small 8×8 plots. The sight is quite breathtaking and the mother of a young family points out the different flowers to her son as she holds out a camera to take photos. And even as we crammed several bushes in this space, we still managed to hide a few surprise details. Can you find Bruni and a watering can hidden under the brush?

The final area in this narra garden is a small park where we find the father of the family and another son. This son is a dog lover and he is playing fetch with Doug, their well-behaved golden retriever. Meanwhile, dad is quite busy feeding the park birds chunks from his tasty croissant.