‘It’s very special to have something from here,’ said Savannah, left. ‘Everyone seems very excited,’ said Maria, right. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian View image in fullscreen ‘It’s very special to have something from here,’ said Savannah, left. ‘Everyone seems very excited,’ said Maria, right. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian Barbican Monstera magic: Barbican hands out cuttings as ‘green lung of the city’ closes Five hundred people turn up to adopt plants from conservatory that will reopen in 2030 after renovation project
Helena Horton Thu 20 Aug 2026 07.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google A bove the waxy monstera leaves and bright pink hibiscus flowers in the Barbican conservatory hangs a giant net to catch the panes of glass that are at risk of falling from the ceiling on the unwitting plant lovers below.
This precarious situation has caused the estate to shutter its greenhouse on the third and fourth floors for three years so a full refurbishment can take place. But the hiatus has a silver lining for many of those who visited on Wednesday to give the plants from the conservatory a new home.
View image in fullscreen The conservatory refurbishment is part of the wider Barbican renewal programme, a £231 million renovation of the site. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian Five hundred people turned up to pick up a cutting from the Barbican’s plant collection and were asked to fill out an “adoption form” as if they were taking home a pet.
Lydia Goldberg, 56, a tech worker, was one of the first through the door and selected a pretty, silvery-green Swedish ivy plant.
“I am a houseplant lover,” she said. “I live in the Barbican and my bedroom overlooks the conservatory. I am sad to see it close but it’s great that it’s being restored. Having a piece of the conservatory in my flat will be incredible and this is a real community event. I can see quite a few of my neighbours here!”
View image in fullscreen 'This is a real community event,’ said Lydia Goldberg, who lives on the Barbican estate. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian The Swedish ivy is among the plants being sorted by the head gardener, Marta Lowcewicz. She was fizzing with excitement as queues of people began to file in. “There has been a social media storm,” she said. “It is amazing how much interest there has been!”
There are going to be three adoption events, each giving away 500 cuttings from species in the conservatory. The first, held this week, ran out of free online tickets almost immediately.
View image in fullscreen Five hundred people turned up to choose a plant cutting at the first event. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian Part of Lowcewicz’s job is to figure out which plants will remain indoors and which will go outside. The climate has changed considerably since the Barbican was built in the 1960s and many indoor plants are now outdoor plants.
“Some of the plants are a bit rough around the edges after the weather we have had,” she said. London has sizzled in five heatwaves and the climate control in the conservatory has not caught up. “When we have new climate control and irrigation systems, the plants will be healthier.”
Lowcewicz will be choosing new plants for the collection, but says “we are looking to retain as many of our plants as possible”. She will select plants that have “big, bold leaves”.
“The architecture of the Barbican is striking and bold so we are trying to make sure the collection fits well with the concrete. We want them to so…