Van Gogh was a patient at the asylum at St-Rémy, near Arles, from May 1889 to May 1890. During this time he was restricted to working in the asylum's grounds, and shortly after his arrival he described the 'abandoned gardens' in which 'the grass grows tall and unkempt, mixed with all kinds of weeds'. This view of these gardens was painted at the end of the painter's stay at the asylum.

This painting was on loan to the exhibition 'Van Gogh and Britain: Pioneer Collections' at Compton Verney, Warwickshire from March to June 2006 and the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh from July to September 2006.