BBCi: Chelsea Flower Show

The Penarth garden designer has designed the blueprint for Wales' only entry for this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

But March's unexpected warm spell has given his collection an early growth spurt.

With seven weeks to go before the prestigious green-fingered contest in London, the flora has gone in the freezer in a bid to slow the grow.

Sea flora

After graduating in garden design from University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) the trained architect was asked by the Royal Horticultural Society to conceive a specialist city garden for the show.

Our tulips have accelerated - we have had to empty the freezer and eat all the food Barry Mayled Profile: Wales' garden builder

His compass design is a nautical theme for an apartment or penthouse balcony, with a Neptune sculpture completing a lavish, �35,000 layout.

But Wales' three weeks of sunshine in March, which saw persistent high pressure push temperatures to 19 Celsius, has caused problems.

Like athletes peaking too soon, his 40 varieties of blue and white flora have blossomed early for next month's show.

"We only have a small window of opportunity to show our plants at Chelsea and we have to pick plants which flower at that time of year," he said.

"Nature doesn't always work with you - if the weather is too warm, they flower too early; if it's too cold, they flower too late.

Sleep

"We have tulips which have accelerated and we now have to find freezer space to slow them down.

"The senior lecturer at UWIC has had to empty her freezer and eat all the food in order to put the tulips in.

"They're frost-hardy, we tell them to go to sleep for a bit and wake them up later on.

"You thaw them slowly and they come to life again; we've just taken a few weeks out of their title."

Aphrodisiac

Local ceramicists and glassworkers have contributed to Mr Mayled's design.

The ideal conditions - coupled with perfect soil from a Brecon supplier - have acted as an aphrodisiac for the flowers.

Lecturer Ann Waters, whose fridge is now home to the competition entries, added: "In two days, they've grown an inch.

"We're a bit worried now. They're coming too fast for the flower show."