Madrigirls // Leaves of Life

Leaves of life, the latest album by The Glasgow University Madrigirls.
Our new album includes loads of Madrigirls favourites, recorded over the past 2 years. Ideal Gift.

Cover image originally entitled ‘The perfect form of a fruit tree’ is from The University of Glasgow’s extensive Special Collections.

It can be found in a beautifully illustrated collection of early print bound together to form a book entitled A New Orchard and Garden and The Country Housewife’s Garden. These were the only published works by William Lawson. They were first printed together in 1618* and proved popular enough to warrant further reprints in quick succession.

Gardening had become a national passion in the Sixteenth Century. Then, as now, it was a recreation that brought peace and contentment, and a welcome escape from the trials of a turbulent age. An increase in travel abroad and geographical discovery brought back new plants and ideas. There was a subsequent demand for new knowledge and exchange of information, spurring the production of horticultural manuals such as this.

The work deals with all aspects of orchard management, covering: the kind of soil required the best kind of site and how to protect it from animals, birds, thieves, disease and the weather; how to plant, space and prune your trees; the different types of fruit trees and bushes and their qualities; and how to gather, store and preserve the fruits of your labours. As Lawson sums up, ‘skill and pains, bring fruitful gains’.