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.
Other events occur 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.
For all you gardening enthusiasts, a gallery of plants with some
random night blooming jasmine that can be found in the First
Street garden...
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