A Gift From a Flower to a Garden is the fifth album from Britishsinger-songwriterDonovan, and marks the first double album of his career and one of the first box sets in rock music. It was released in the US in December 1967 / B2N 171 ) and in the UK on 16 April 1968 / NSPL 20000 ). In December 1967, Epic Records also released each of the two records from A Gift From a Flower to a Garden as separate albums in the US. The first record was released as Wear Your Love Like Heaven, and the second record was released as For Little Ones. This was done to allow budgeting for the double album package, which included a folder of the printed lyrics to the second disc with artwork, and a cover featuring an infrared photo of Donovan by Karl Ferris who was his and Jimi Hendrix's personal photographer.
History
After recording the Mellow Yellow album, Donovan focused on releasing hit singles. "Epistle to Dippy" hit the top 20 in February 1967 and "There is a Mountain" followed in August. Riding high on the success of these singles, Donovan entered the studio in October to record his next album. The double album that resulted from these sessions consisted of one disc of electric pop music and another of acousticchildren's music. The acoustic album allowed Donovan to present a facet of his songwriting that had not been featured on his singles. It also allowed him to show his strength as a guitar player and performer in a way that he could not when augmented by session musicians. In fact, Donovan's live performances of the time featured instrumentation and performances more in line with For Little Ones than his hit singles and the first record of A Gift From a Flower to a Garden. While Mickie Most produced the single from the album, and is credited with the album's production, Donovan actually produced the bulk of the material himself, allowing Most the credit to help sales. In the album's liner notes, Donovan explained his purpose in creating two rather different discs, and also denounced the use of drugs. Several of his earlier records had contained both veiled and open references to drug use, but since the release of Mellow Yellow, he had both been arrested and prosecuted for marijuana possession, and had seen people he knew turning to harder drugs, and the damage this caused in their lives. Instead, Donovan promoted the use of meditation and other techniques, in his new songs.
Songs
"Mad John's Escape" is a song written for a friend of Donovan's who escaped from a mental health centre. The song details Mad John's escape and subsequent adventures. "Under the Greenwood Tree" was originally written by William Shakespeare in As You Like It, and set to music by Donovan for the Royal National Theatre, who planned to use it in a stage production. At the end of the song, Donovan sings "Will you, won't you... join the dance?" in reference to the chorus of "The Lobster Quadrille" in Chapter X of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "Epistle to Derroll" is dedicated to the banjo player and singer Derroll Adams, an early influence on Donovan.
In 1993, BGO Records reissued A Gift from a Flower to a Garden on compact disc in the UK. Mono and Stereo versions were issued. See https://www.discogs.com/Donovan-A-Gift-From-A-Flower-To-A-Garden/release/3875953 for details.
On 12 September 2000, Collector's Choice Music reissued A Gift from a Flower to a Garden on compact disc in the US.
On 16 January 2001, Collectables Records released Mellow Yellow/Wear Your Love Like Heaven, which contained all of Mellow Yellow and the Wear Your Love Like Heaven portion of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden.
On 26 January 2009, EMI reissued A Gift from a Flower to a Garden, remastered, on compact disc.
