RYAN McNaught has every child's dream job ... playing with LEGO for a living.
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He is Australia's only LEGO certified professional and will build the world's largest LEGO flower to be displayed at this year's Ballarat Begonia Festival.
Mr McNaught estimates it will take about 500 man hours to construct, using between 100,000 and 125,000 individual pieces of LEGO.
"It will be a giant begonia, with two leaves coming out behind it, with a lady but on one of the leaves," he said.
"We want it to be interactive - so people can come up to it and get a photo with it."
Mr McNaught admitted to not being much of a gardener.
"My wife is the green thumb. She told me not to water (the LEGO begonia)."
Other LEGO sculptures will be hidden throughout the garden for children to find.
"It will be controversial - because LEGO is plastic, it's not a traditional garden thing. But the idea is similar to a sculpture or a bird bath that you might find in someone's front lawn."
Mr McNaught said he hoped it would attract new crowds to the Begonia Festival that previously wouldn't have been to a garden festival.
In 2005, when Mr McNaught was working an IT desk job, LEGO robotics came onto the market. He then developed iPad software which interacted and communicated with the robotics.
He was invited to take his software to a LEGO show in America, where people from LEGO approached him. He then went through an interview process, and now is the only LEGO Certified Professional in the Southern Hemisphere.
Originally from Bendigo, but now based in Melbourne, Mr McNaught began working with LEGO in 2006, becoming a full time LEGO expert in 2010.
He said he has never constructed anything like a giant begonia before.
"In Sydney's Pitt Street Mall, we did the world's largest LEGO Christmas tree. It was huge, but it's very different as it's lots of green, as this will be highly detailed."
Although, the begonia will only use six colours of LEGO, when there are about 50 colours available.
Mr McNaught said the planning took about eight weeks to come up with a solid design.
With a team of two others, Mr McNaught will begin construction late next week.
