In the liner notes, Nesmith states The Garden is not a sequel in the strictest sense of the term — meaning that there isn't a true continuation of the narrative which began in The Prison.

Allmusic writes "the music retains Nesmith's inimitable and signature sound, yet compared to his most concurrent effort, Tropical Campfires (1992), The Garden is exceedingly ethereal and more often than not instrumental.

There are vocals that feature not only the artist, but also his children Jason — who is likewise the central character in the short story — Christian, and Jessica.

The backing band also includes Christian Nesmith as well as most of the musicians the senior Nez had collaborated with on the aforementioned Tropical Campfires, most notably Desert Rose Band string man John Jorgenson (guitar/sax/bassoon/mandolin/oboe/bandurila/mandocello), Joe Chemay (bass), and John Hobbs (keyboards), as well as studio maven Sid Page (violin)".

[3] According to the liner notes, the album was recorded at various times between October 1991 and September 1993 at Footprint Studios and Trax in Los Angeles.