BIO: A shy and modest man, elderly Bernard Walsh was surprised that so many people were attracted to his secluded garden he quietly made for his own enjoyment. This gentleman's story with accompanying photos can be found in the July-Aug 1984 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes." Walsh's "water garden" sprung from an unnamed brook winding its otherwise uneventful way through Ladywell, a tranquil section of Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, before tumbling unnoticed into the nearby river Nore. The garden was a small wonderland, a colourful mini-extravaganza of flowers, shrubs, miniature fountains and moving water. The "Genneria manicatea," an impressive flowering aquatic shrub found in Brazil, and the "Minulus," in various colours, happily contributed to the overall pleasing vista. Walsh's garden was bounded on one side by 13th-century town walls, built by Thomas FitzAnthony, a Norman overlord who gave his name to the town. It was overlooked by the ruins of the Dominican Friary. These important structures hardly intruded - within the garden one was conscious only of the peace, the sound of water and of birdsong. Bernard's portable garden seat was made from the wheels of a reaper and binder, given him by the late Dorothy Archer-Houblon who lived nearby. She was the trainer of the Queen's horse for the ceremonial trooping of the colours in London. The seat timbers were cut from beams of the old wooden toll bridge at Fiddown, where travellers paid an old penny toll to cross the river Suir. Each summer, Bernard with his sisters, May and Kathleen, would welcome visitors and offer tea by the fish pond. To Bernard, there was a beauty and use in everything. One section of his garden featured tractor seats mounted on little wooden stakes rising out of the soil like colourful blossoms -- Victor, Patent, Martin Stamford, Blackstone & Co. Stamford, Pierce, Orion, Bamfords, Albion, Hornsby, O'Reilly Kilkenny, Walter A. Wood.