A Walk in the Garden: Lasher's Final Resting Place

The garden at the Mayfair House figures in the series for several reasons.  Obviously, the most important reason is that it is the location of Lasher's grave along with that of Emaleth, his daughter by Rowan Mayfair.

The Garden in the Mayfair Witches Novels

Events in the garden and on the grounds that are prominent in the story:

1.  Mary Beth Mayfair had the garden laid out for her fifteenth birthday in the very design that was restored a century later by Michael Curry.

2.  Stella Mayfair's parties often spilled out onto the grounds.  For one party, she filled the swimming pool (her addition to the grounds) with champagne.

3.  Antha Mayfair was pushed to her death on the flagstone patio by Carlotta Mayfair.

4.  Deirdre Mayfair is the namesake of "Deirdre's Oak" and it was she who carved "Lasher" into its trunk.

5.  Sightings of Deirdre Mayfair on the porch had her positioned to view the garden, and the activity in the garden gave atmosphere to the setting at the beginning of The Witching Hour. 

6.  Michael Curry always saw Lasher standing in the garden at First Street when he was a child.  When he returned to New Orleans, he went straight to the house and saw that thirty years later, Lasher was still in the garden.

7.  Michael had a vision when he decided to take a dip in the newly restored pool.  He saw a ghostly replay of Stella's last party and the shade of Arthur Langtry was warning him by urging him to "come away from there, man!"  Later, Michael nearly drowned in the pool after his fight with the newly reincarnated Lasher, who meant to drown him completely this time.

8.  Rowan and Michael's wedding reception at the house was also spread into the garden.

9.  Julien Mayfair appeared to Quinn Blackwood when he came to visit Mona, and it was in the garden that Julien warned Quinn that he and Mona could never marry.  The interview with Julien took place in the very location in the garden where Lasher and Emaleth were interred.  Their scent was still there, and Quinn noted it, though he did not know the source of it until Julien told him.

10.  It was in the garden that Lestat joined Rowan, Michael, Dolly Jean Mayfair, Quinn and Mona to hear Rowan's recounting of the events that led up to her despair and Mona's death - the events in the three Mayfair books.  It was here also that she told Lestat that she was more than aware of the existence of Merrick Mayfair and described their meeting one another.  Rowan also told Lestat that she had seen Louis and had even followed him.  Lestat in turn told her that Louis was no doubt aware of her though she did not think he was at the time.

I decided to put some photos here of what species of plants and shrubs can be found in the Mayfair garden.  One of my passions has always been gardens so this is a good excuse to devote a page on this site to them.  Over time, I will provide the Latin names of each plant as well as their common names as we know them.  

What is amazing is that this is a garden flourishing in New Orleans and though I live in Oregon, many of the same species of plants thrive here as well.  Then again, it is often the amount of light and watering (whether natural from rain or done with a sprinkler system) that determines if a plant will live or not.  The light is a critical part of photosynthesis and whether it's New Orleans or it's Oregon, light is light.

A Witch's Garden...

The original Garden Gallery had both the English and Latin names of each plant, and I've restored them here as best I could. These plants are ones you would see in the Mayfair garden, or something close to it.

I've reordered the plants listed here so they are grouped together rather than scattered across the gallery. I've also added subsections to navigate this gallery more easily. If you are familiar with some or all of these plants or have suggestions or corrections, please do let me know!

Flowering Plants

Fruit Producing Plants

Shrubs and Plants

Shrubs or Plants...or Trees?

Trees