LONDON: London’s Barbican Conservatory, a unique tropical escape above the city streets, was on Sunday transformed into an unlikely adoption centre, allowing hundreds of carefully screened “plant parents” to take home cuttings of its rare flora.
Nestling among a concrete Brutalist backdrop, described as “one of the modern wonders of the world” by the late Queen Elizabeth, the conservatory houses 800 species, including some of the world’s most threatened plants, and is set for major renovation.
Ahead of that closure, plant enthusiasts were given the chance to take a small piece of that urban jungle home. Plant lovers queued to adopt one of 500 cuttings propagated from plants growing inside the conservatory before the venue closes at the end of the year.
The adoption process came with conditions, however. Prospective plant parents had to fill out a form explaining, or even drawing, where their cutting would live. They were encouraged to give it a name and track down its parent plant among the conservatory’s greenery. Successful applicants left with a care card detailing the watering, humidity and light requirements. The cuttings included favourites such as Swiss cheese plants, spider plants and arrowhead vines, alongside purple heart, a striking species native to Mexico. Heather Ring, co-founder of Wayward Plants, which helped organise the event, said applicants had embraced the unusual adoption process.
“These plants are so charismatic, and these acts of care are really special,” she said. Lydia Goldberg, who lives on the Barbican estate, named her newly adopted Swedish ivy cutting “Nico”. “The renovations will take few years, but its going to look so gorgeous once it’s done,” Goldberg said.
Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2026
