The Barbican is giving away cuttings from its Conservatory for the last time on Wednesday 2 December, and the 700 free tickets are being handed out by a ballot that closes on Thursday 19 November.
The ballot opened on 29 October. Tickets are allocated at random, and people who are picked are contacted and given 48 hours to choose a time slot and confirm, the Barbican said. The event runs from 2pm to 7pm, each slot takes 40 people and there are no walk-ins.
The cuttings are propagated by Wayward Plants, a plant reuse group that runs the adoptions with the Barbican. Each person who books takes home one cutting, which will not be a mature plant, the event page says. Monstera, ficus and purple-and-green tradescantia were among the species to be shared when the adoptions began in August, BBC News reported.
The Conservatory closes for a three-year restoration in early 2027 and is due to reopen in 2030, when it will open daily with free entry, the Barbican says. BBC News put the cost of the wider overhaul of the Grade II listed centre at £231m.
“Each cutting is the beginning of something new,” Dr Philippa Simpson, the Barbican’s chief operating officer, said when the adoptions were announced in August.
Last chances to visit
Free public openings run on various dates from Friday 13 November to Sunday 20 December, from noon to 6pm. Entry is free but must be booked. No cuttings are handed out at these openings, and visitors must not take any, the Barbican said.
The singer-songwriter anaiis and the artist and filmmaker Tayo Rapoport present devotion, a programme of film, music and movement, on Sunday 22 November at 4pm, 5.30pm and 7pm. The Barbican calls it the Conservatory’s final public performance. Tickets are £20, or £12 for Young Barbican members, and it is recommended for ages 16 and over.
Conservatory Sonic, a two-day programme of listening, field recording and group sound-making with Mental Fight Club, runs on Sunday 8 and Monday 23 November. Members of Young Barbican, the centre’s free scheme for 18 to 29-year-olds, get their own plant adoption on Sunday 29 November. A series called Rest, Reflect and Recharge offers yoga, guided relaxation, breathwork and workshops in the glasshouse in November and December.
What is in the glasshouse
The Conservatory was planted in the 1980s on the roof of the Barbican Theatre, around its 100-foot fly tower, and opened in 1984. It holds about 800 species of temperate and arid plants. Narrow paths and stairs mean only about 30% of it is fully accessible, which the restoration is meant to fix with a new lift and staircase, according to the Barbican and the BBC.
The essentials
- Final plant adoption: Wednesday 2 December 2026, 2pm-7pm; free, by ballot only
- Ballot closes: Thursday 19 November 2026; winners get 48 hours to confirm a slot
- Final free openings: various dates, Friday 13 November to Sunday 20 December, noon-6pm; booking required
- devotion: Sunday 22 November, 4pm, 5.30pm and 7pm; £20, Young Barbican £12
- Where: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
- Reopens: 2030, open daily and free