From Gardens Where We Feel Secure is the title of the first Virginia Astley

Virginia Astley

Virginia Astley is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. From the start of her songwriting career in 1980, Astley took her inspiration from many sources. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 issued on her own Happy Valley label and distributed by Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

.

The album was released in July 1983 and peaked at number 4 in the UK Indie Chart

UK Indie Chart

The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

. The album was trailed by a couple of its tracks A Summer Long Since Past and It's Too Hot to Sleep, which were included on the 12" of the earlier single Love's a lonely place to be.

The album is an instrumental collection of tone poems that describe the cycle and mirror the moods of an indolent summer day. The album began life as a series of demos produced by John Foxx

John Foxx

John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...

 at the Crépuscule

Les Disques du Crepuscule

Les Disques Du Crépuscule was a Belgian independent record label.The label was started in 1980 by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré, residents of Brussels who had previously organised and promoted concerts in the city. Initial releases were by Factory Records artists, and were labelled as being...

 studios, where he was working at the time. The album is notable for its structure, moving from dawn to dusk, and its use of natural, sound effects. In 1986, Astley and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto

After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...

 re-recorded "A Summer Long Since Passed" and including it in her 1986 album Hope in a Darkened Heart

Hope in a Darkened Heart

Hope in a Darkened Heart is a 1986 album by Virginia Astley, produced, primarily, by Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album is noted for featuring former Japan singer David Sylvian on the track "Some Small Hope" and for an alternate version of "A Summer Long Since Passed",...

. "From Gardens..." was re-mastered and re-released by Rough Trade as a CD in 2003.

Critical Reaction

The album was praised by critics. Stewart Mason, writing for Allmusic, stated:

Track listing

1. "Morning: With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" - 5:43
2. "Morning: A Summer Long Since Passed" - 4:36
3. "Morning: From Gardens Where We Feel Secure" - 3:59
4. "Morning: Hiding In The Ha-Ha" - 3:55
5. "Afternoon: Out On The Lawn I Lie In Bed" - 5:09
6. "Afternoon: Too Hot For Peacocks" - 2:29
7. "Afternoon: Summer Of Their Dreams" - 3:21
8. "Afternoon: When The Fields Were On Fire" - 3:25
9. "Afternoon: It's Too Hot To Sleep" - 5:18