Review: 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden from LEGO® Icons

As the days grow shorter and colder in the Northern Hemisphere, builders have the perfect excuse to stay indoors and indulge in their hobby. And what better subject matter for this time of year than the latest Gardens of the World set: 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden? 

This cosy new addition to the LEGO® Icons line is packed with autumnal atmosphere, along with a selection of new elements and fresh recolours for us to harvest...

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

11372 Autumn Cottage Garden

• Release date: 1 January 2026
• Pieces: 1102

Price: 

• US$ 119.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 149.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 99.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 179.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 199.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• 109,99€ on LEGO.com Deutschland, Nederland, France etc
• PLN 499.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1499,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 949.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

 

New mould

The Autumn Cottage Garden features an exciting new mould:

• 24x Weeping Willow Leaves in Bright Light Orange (6589139 | 7741)

The element bears a single hollow stud which is its only connection point.

A thin vein of plastic on the underside adds some reinforcement to keep the element from bending. While it looks about the same width as a panel, it's actually a smidgeon thicker, so a minifigure hip assembly can't straddle this portion of the element.

The tablescrap above provides some idea of the funky dimensions of this element. This one was a difficult part to analyze as it doesn't play well with the LEGO® System. 

The leftmost image above shows the 'depth' of the element – somewhere between 5 and 6 plates. I tried various combinations of parts but I couldn't bring the leaf texture flush with that black 1 x 4 tile on the base plate. The rightmost image shows the width of the leaf – a little shy of 3.5 plates across.

At least the area under the leaf is easy to measure: the distance between the bottom of the anti-stud and the tip of the leaf is a nice round 10 plates or 4 modules, and from the vein to the back side is 5 plates or 2 modules. It makes sense that this negative space of the element would fit the LEGO System nicely, as the piece is most likely to be perched atop a stack of bricks to make a tree.

Now, how about that curve?

The 1 x 2 inverted arch provides a decent match for the outer curve, though I still had issues getting everything flush – this was as close as I got.

As for the inner curve, it seems to have a radius of about 0.5 modules, meaning a 1 x 1 round tile might be a good match, or the 1 x 1 double curved slope in the centre picture. I couldn't find a way to line everything up while keeping it all in LEGO System, however.

When I first saw this element, I assumed that it would bear some resemblance to or show some nice synergy with the lime 6091 slope above right, but they are surprisingly different.

Because this element is so tricky to build around, I find it hard to imagine it being used for anything other than its intended purpose in official LEGO sets. As the image above shows, other specialised foliage parts also tend to be used almost exclusively as… well, foliage.

On one hand, I'm a little disappointed with how little synergy this element shares with other parts, on the other, it's exciting to get a brand new specialised leaf element to add variety to our MOCs!

Speaking of MOCs, even if it does simply show up as a leaf in official LEGO sets, I'm sure the MOC community can come up with some other fun uses. Here at New E., we see a braided beard for a dwarf or Viking! 

What do you see?

New prints

• 1x Animal, Bird, Small with print in Sand Blue (6589866)
• 1x Animal, Bird, Small with print in Dark Tan (6576367)

Two new prints for the bird element help put this Garden of the World on the map. The sand blue fella represents a nuthatch, while the dark tan is a robin; 2 birds that are commonly found in European gardens.

Recolours

Eight elements have been recoloured for this set.

First up, the set's 2 monochrome elements:

• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 3 x 2, Straight End in White (6575575 | 5850) – a very new mould
• 34x Tile Round 2 x 2 Half Circle in Dark Bluish Gray (6580726 | 5520)
  

The arch is a brand-new mould, first seen just last month in 21363 The Goonies. Elspeth’s review of the LEGO Goonies offered an impressively thorough analysis of this otherwise unassuming part.

Next, some greenery:

• 8x Plant, Fern 2 x 3 x 2 in Sand Green (6580718 | 2682)
• 20x Tile Special 2 x 2 Corner with Cut Corner Facet in Olive Green (6580721 | 27263)

The 2682 leaf element has been used more often as a fir tree element recently than its intended use as a fern leaf. This sand green recolor is perfect to represent the set's blue spruce tree.

It wouldn't be autumn without some red hues:

• 1x Hat Cone Drooping [Plain] in Red (6580720 | 17349)
• 10x Plant, Leaves Stacked 4 x 5 x 1 2/3 in Reddish Orange (6580716 | 5058)

Reddish orange is a great recolor for the 5058 leaf element. Combined with the existing dark red and bright light orange versions, we can now make even-more-convincing autumn trees.

Lastly, a couple of surprising purple recolours:

• 6x Plant, Flower, Minifig Accessory with 7 Thick Petals and Pin, Center Ring in Lavender (6580722 | 4367)
• 8x Headwear Accessory Vintage Sci-Fi Antenna in Dark Purple (6584820 | 5525)

Lavender feels like the natural colour choice for this flower element, so discovering that this is its first outing in that shade caught me off-guard. The vintage Sci-Fi antennae actually made a prior botanical appearance in 21353 The Botanical Garden, but if you missed that set (as I did), seeing them here as sprigs of lavender is a fun detail.

Rare elements

The rare elements – those currently appearing in just one other set – are listed below:

• 3x Brick Round 1 x 1 with 3 Bars in Black (6507603 | 6331)
• 3x Plant, Leaves 4 x 3 in Yellow (6561362 | 2423)
• 2x Flame / Headwear Accessory Plume / Feather, Triple Point in Yellow (6550352 | 28661)
• 8x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Left in Olive Green (6534120 | 65429)
• 3x Wedge Sloped 45° 3 x 3 Left in Reddish Brown (6554327 | 42862)
• 4x Wedge Sloped 45° 3 x 3 Right in Reddish Brown (6554325 | 48165)

The build

The build begins with a garden display base measuring just a little over 22 × 36 modules. It’s a sizeable footprint, but it comes together quickly thanks to the generous use of large bricks and plates. The underside features a set of feet with rubber tyres to provide some friction on smooth or shiny surfaces.

With the base complete, it’s time to add the fun details: reeds, flowers, a bench – and best of all – a garden gnome!

The highlight of the set is the cottage. Its fachwerk-inspired architecture uses 1×2 centered brackets to create the classic black-on-white, half-timbered look.

One of my favourite parts of the build is the roof. The thatched effect is achieved through a clever sideways construction, and a pair of studs arranged in a perfect triangle is used to mount the rakes.

Once complete, the cottage is set at an angle, supported by a neatly aligned "sugar grid" of studs on the base. You can learn more about this technique in this article on the topic of angled builds from guest contributor Arno Knobbe.

Inside, the compact interior is packed with charm, including a cutting board and a pot simmering in the fireplace. The instruction manual says it's pumpkin soup on the menu but those 1 x 1 tiles look like carrots to me!

The garden includes five different trees, each built using unique techniques to give them unique personalies. From left to right; maple, dun dial and lavender, birch, weeping willow, and blue spruce. My favourite is the spruce, beneath which a squirrel has thoughtfully buried an acorn, ready for winter.

Like the previous 2 Gardens of the World installments, the trees can slot into the base in different positions, providing the set with an element of customisation. 

The final touch is the wheelbarrow, which slots securely into the base using two well-placed connections to keep it from rolling away.

The finished model

I loved the first Gardens of the World set, 2023's 10315 Tranquil Garden – and so did my daughter, who quickly turned it into a picnic spot for her Disney Princesses. The 2025 follow-up, 10359 Fountain Garden, felt somehow flatter and less engaging, lacking the charm of its predecessor. 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden, however, is a welcome return to form. A winding river path framed by tall trees, plus a cottage with its door invitingly ajar, creates an immersive, visually captivating scene reminiscent of the Tranquil Garden.

At 1102 pieces, 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden is the smallest of the three sets – but at US$119.99 / £99.99 / €109.99 / AU$179.99, also the priciest. While it may not deliver the best value for money, it’s still a pretty good parts pack for foliage elements, with its recoloured vegetation and a satisfyingly large quantity of the new willow leaf mould.

READ MORE: Elspeth's review of the LEGO Tranquil Garden and Caz's review with MOC of the LEGO Fountain Garden

Autumn Cottage Garden on LEGO.com

 

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