Claire is a 34-year-old caterer who lives alone in her family's Queen Anne-style home in Bascom, North Carolina. She uses edible flowers from her magical garden to influence the emotions of her clients. Deeply protective of her secure routine, she fears vulnerability and resists letting new people into her life.

Sydney is Claire's younger sister who left Bascom at eighteen to escape the isolation of her family's magical reputation. After enduring an abusive relationship, she returns to her hometown seeking safety and stability for her daughter. She possesses a natural talent for understanding people through styling hair.

Tyler is a new art professor at Orion College who has recently moved into the house next to the Waverleys. Having grown up with bohemian artist parents, he craves the routine and stability that Claire represents. He is immediately drawn to Claire and remains undeterred by her defensive boundaries.

David is Sydney's abusive partner and Bay's father. He runs a restaurant and exerts intense control over Sydney's life, having violently forced her to return to him during a previous escape attempt. His looming threat casts a shadow over Sydney's attempts to rebuild her life in Bascom.

Evanelle is a 79-year-old widowed relative of the Waverley sisters. She possesses a unique family gift: a physical compulsion to give people specific items that they will eventually need, even if she does not initially understand why. She acts as an eccentric but wise guide to her family and the community.

Emma is a resident of Bascom who has been a rival to Sydney since high school. Coming from the Clark family, she feels intense pressure to maintain her husband's interest using her physical allure. She struggles with insecurity regarding her marriage and views Sydney's return to town as a direct threat.

Bay is Sydney's five-year-old daughter. Like the women in her maternal bloodline, she possesses a distinct intuition, specifically a knack for knowing exactly where things belong. She eagerly seeks a sense of safety and roots in her new environment.

Hunter John is Emma's husband, considered a major catch in Bascom due to his good looks and family wealth. He dated Sydney in high school but broke her heart to uphold his family's expectations. He now runs his family's business and deals with his wife's constant insecurities.

Ariel is Emma's vindictive mother. She aggressively coaches her daughter on using sexual allure to control men and actively sabotages Sydney to make Emma feel superior. She views interactions as zero-sum competitions for status.

Henry is Sydney's childhood friend who works at his family's dairy. The men in his family are known for being born old and preferring stability. He has harbored a quiet affection for Sydney since they were children and offers her a safe, steady presence upon her return.

Fred is the owner of a gourmet grocery store in Bascom. He is going through a painful period of transition as his relationship with his long-term partner begins to dissolve. He relies on the Waverley women for emotional support and magical, mood-lifting products.

James is Fred's partner of thirty years. Feeling stifled by Fred's reliance on him to make decisions, James chooses to leave their shared apartment to force Fred into independence, prompting a major crisis in Fred's life.

The Apple Tree is a sentient, magical fixture in the Waverley family garden. It blooms in the winter and intentionally throws its apples at specific people. Eating its fruit gives a person a vision of the most significant event of their life, an ability the tree seems eager to share despite Claire's protective hoarding.

Lester is Henry's grandfather who helps run the Hopkins Dairy. He recognizes Henry's lingering attraction to Sydney and actively encourages his grandson to pursue the connection, adhering to the family tradition of Hopkins men marrying older or more experienced women.

Lorelei is Claire and Sydney's deceased mother. She lived a restless, unrooted life, traveling frequently and relying on various men, before dying in a car crash. Her choices left deep emotional scars on both of her daughters, though they each interpreted her wildness differently.

Grandmother Waverley is the deceased matriarch who provided a stable home for Claire and Sydney in Bascom after their mother abandoned them. She tended the magical garden before Claire and serves as Claire's primary role model for how a Waverley woman should live.