Highgarden

"You must see Highgarden. You'd love it there, I know you would. We have a great masquerade the night of the harvest moon... you should see the costumes, people work on them for months."

- Margaery Tyrell to Sansa Stark

Highgarden is the seat of House Tyrell and the regional capital of the Reach. Located on the banks of the river Mander, Highgarden sits astride the Roseroad, a major thoroughfare linking Oldtown and King's Landing. Highgarden also forms the southern terminus of the the Searoad, which leads to Lannisport. As King's Landing, Oldtown, and Lannisport are the first, second, and third largest cities in the realm, heavy trade and traffic across a large swath of southern Westeros ultimately passes through Highgarden.

The golden roses and green fields that surround Highgarden is what the Tyrell sigil and heraldry is based upon.

Highgarden was in the Tyrell's possession for many centuries until it was sacked and captured by a Lannister army, bolstered by soldiers from House Tyrell's formerly loyal vassals House Tarly, with its resources plundered in the name of Queen Cersei. With the death of Lady Olenna Tyrell, and the presumed extinction of House Tyrell, the castle's fate is uncertain.

Background
Highgarden was founded by Garth Greenhand, one of the legendary kings of the First Men. His descendants, House Gardener, ruled from Highgarden as Kings of the Reach until the invasion of Aegon the Conqueror. King Mern IX Gardener and all his issue were slaughtered by Aegon's dragons on the Field of Fire, and his steward Harlen Tyrell yielded the castle to Aegon. In gratitude, Aegon bestowed Highgarden on the Tyrells and named them Lords of the Reach. This sparked off a long-standing complaint from House Florent of Brightwater Keep, who claimed a superior blood-link to the Gardeners, though this has been constantly dismissed by later kings.

Season 2
During the tournament held by King Renly Baratheon, when Ser Loras Tyrell duels with Brienne of Tarth, Margaery Tyrell cheers on her brother by standing up from her seat and shouting "Highgarden!".

After Renly is assassinated, most of his bannermen from the Stormlands submit to his older brother Stannis Baratheon. However, Margaery and Loras withdraw House Tyrell's sizable army back to Highgarden, along with the other Houses from the Reach they command. They are accompanied by Petyr Baelish. A few Tyrell bannermen, however-- most notably House Florent, bend the knee to Stannis.

Season 3
Cersei and Joffrey attend a dinner with Margaery and Loras. To win the support of the smallfolk of the city, Margaery has been giving out food aid with her handmaidens - Cersei is unsettled because while she only knows how to rule through fear, Margaery is adept at winning the hearts and minds of her people, a skill which Cersei lacks. Indirectly mocking Cersei, Loras pointedly says that Margaery has previously been greatly involved with charity work for the poor back at Highgarden. Cersei also mocks Margaery's revealing dress by sarcastically asking if she is cold, to which Margaery counters that the climate is warmer in Highgarden - though thankfully, the Tyrells' blood runs quite warm. Margaery also- perhaps deliberately- comments on the Reach's provisions of food to the capital, reminding Cersei of the importance of House Tyrell's support in the war.

When Margaery introduces Sansa to her grandmother Olenna Tyrell in the gardens of the Red Keep, Olenna scoffs that her son Mace Tyrell was a fool for supporting Renly Baratheon's attempt to claim the throne. After admitting to Olenna that Joffrey is a psychopathic monster, Sansa fears that this will mean Joffrey won't marry Margaery, and will instead force her to marry him as before. Olenna reassures Sansa that Mace, whom she calls "the Lord Oaf of Highgarden", is too deeply set on having his daughter Margaery be Joffrey's queen to call off the wedding no matter what.

Sansa was planned to be wed to Ser Loras after Joffrey and Margaery's wedding, where she would be sent to live in Highgarden, away from the Lannisters and Petyr Baelish's plans. However this plot is uncovered by Petyr Baelish, whom reports it to the Lannisters, and alternatively arranges for Sansa to be wed to Tyrion to keep her away from the Tyrell's growing influence over the Seven Kingdoms.

Season 4
When Jaime Lannister returns to King's Landing, Cersei enumerates the many grievances she has suffered in his absence, and voices her extreme displeasure at Joffrey marrying Margaery, whom Cersei deems "a wicked little bitch from Highgarden".

After the death of Joffrey at the Purple Wedding, orchestrated by Olenna Tyrell and Petyr Baelish, Olenna reveals her part in this to Margaery, and tells her that she is returning to Highgarden. However Olenna and Margaery plan to keep Margaery in King's Landing to marry Tommen who would be easier to control than Joffrey would have been.

Season 5
After Tywin Lannister's murder, Loras presumes that the arranged marriage between himself and Cersei will be canceled, given that Tywin was the one pushing for it. He tells his sister Margaery that he is not happy to be free of the match, however, because it means that instead of Cersei returning with him to Highgarden as originally planned, she will now remain in King's Landing and undermine Margaery at every turn. Margaery wryly implies that while Cersei will be staying, she won't find undermining Margaery to be that easy.

After Loras is thrown in a cell by the newly reinstated Faith Militant, Olenna Tyrell returns from Highgarden to attempt to resolve the issue. Loras and Margaery are then both taken into cells as prisoners of the Faith.

Olenna attempts to bribe the High Sparrow reminding him of the importance of Highgarden's support to keep the city running, but this bribe fails. Olenna later meets with Lord Petyr Baelish who gives away information about Cersei which gets her taken prisoner too.

Season 6
Cersei Lannister orders Qyburn to have his 'little birds' positioned all over the Seven Kingdoms to spy for her. Highgarden is one of the places she specifically mentions to him, with the Tyrell's holding considerable influence and court and her suspicions at their attempts to undermine her.

A part of the Tyrell army is drafted into King's Landing from Highgarden in an attempt to free Loras and Margaery Tyrell and remove the Faith Militant.

Margaery is studying and praying at the Sept of Baelor when the High Sparrow makes a rather thinly veiled threat against Olenna. Margaery returns to the Red Keep and encourages her grandmother to return to Highgarden, saying it's where Olenna belongs. Olenna accepts after being given a note by Margaery of a rose- the sigil of House Tyrell- which reassures Olenna that Margaery is still working for the interests of the Tyrell family. Olenna later leaves for Highgarden despite Cersei Lannister's request of an alliance to remove the Faith Militant from the city.

After the deaths of Margaery, Loras, and Mace in the Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor, at the hands of Cersei Lannister, Olenna leaves Highgarden for the Water Gardens of Dorne where she meets with the Sand Snakes. Whilst there she makes an alliance between House Tyrell and House Targaryen, though admits that the Tyrell line may not survive, offering the revelation that Highgarden could be without Tyrell leadership for the first time since Aegon's Conquest when they took over from House Gardener, approximately 300 years ago.

Season 7
In a surprise tactical move, Ser Jaime Lannister lead a ten thousand strong Lannister - Tarly army to Highgarden in an attempt to plunder it of its wealth and grain, not only to supply its military forces but to pay back the crowns debts to the Iron Bank of Braavos, which had been called in by Tycho Nestoris. Jaime had promised Lord Randyll lordship of The Reach and position of Warden of the South if he were to aid him, which prior to Highgarden's fall was held by the head of House Tyrell. After the Lannister - Tarly victory, Jaime met privately with Olenna Tyrell. Eager to learn of her fate, Jaime poured poison into a cup of wine and offered it to her as opposed to taking her back to Kings Landing to face the 'justice' of his sister. After drinking the poisoned wine, Olenna confessed to murdering his and Cersei's son, Joffrey Baratheon, at the Purple Wedding, imploring Jaime to tell Cersei that it was she who committed the murder.

The fall of Highgarden and House Tyrell also marks the loss of Daenerys Targaryen's last Westerosi ally, which will seriously hinder her efforts to retake the Iron Throne.

Notable residents of the castle

 * Lady {Olenna Tyrell}, known as the Queen of Thorns, the dowager-lady of the house. Formerly Olenna of House Redwyne. Ruler of House Tyrell after the deaths of her son and grandchildren in the  Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor, at the hands of Cersei Lannister. Poisoned herself after the Lannisters sacked Highgarden.


 * Lord {Mace Tyrell}, the former ruler of House Tyrell, eldest son of Lady Olenna. Killed in the  Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor.


 * Queen {Margaery Tyrell}, Mace's only daughter, reputed to be a beautiful maiden, close to her brother Loras. Queen to Renly, Joffrey, and Tommen Baratheon. Killed in the Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor.
 * Ser {Loras Tyrell}, the deceased heir to Highgarden as Mace's son and Margaery's younger brother. Killed in the  Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Highgarden is among the most beautiful castles in the Seven Kingdoms. Situated on a broad, symmetrically shaped hill, the castle includes three concentric tiers of white stone walls, which increase in height and thickness as one travels upwards. Between the outermost and middle walls is Highgarden's famous "briar maze", a labyrinth of beautifully maintained hedges that serves two important purposes; entertainment for the castle's inhabitants and deterrence against enemies (any invaders who manage to penetrate the outer wall would have no easy task finding their way through the elaborate growth of thorns and greenery).

The inner rings of Highgarden are a beautiful complex of towers, courtyards, colonnades and statuary, and greenery is just as prominent inside the walls as in the fields outside; ivy, grapevines and climbing roses can be seen snaking around the buildings, and gardens and arbors are filled with flowers. Water features are also common inside the walls, with pools, fountains and even man-made waterfalls visible throughout the complex. The TV series takes this layout into account, but gives the appearance of the outer rings being overtaken by a forest, so the innermost castle is the only part that can be seen from outside.

Highgarden is also notable for its places of worship. The castle sept is lined with rows of stained-glass windows depicting the Seven as well as Garth Greenhand, the legendary first king of the Reach. Highgarden's godswood, instead of the typical single heart tree, contains three tall weirwood trees known as the Three Singers. Said to have been planted by Garth himself, the branches of the trees have become so enmeshed over the centuries that they resemble a single tree with three trunks.

A fine selection of horseflesh can be found in Highgarden's stables, and pleasure barges offer river cruises on the Mander. Outside the walls, meadows and fields of flowers can be seen in every direction, along with fruit orchards rich in peaches, melons and fireplums.

Willas Tyrell, the elder of Mace's children, is the heir of Highgarden.