“We both want our kids to grow up with a love of gardening,” he says.
Ben Napier
If something is beautiful, it makes you want to be around it more.
Made with Memories
Ben spent a couple of years gathering materials.
Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
“Every detail was very intentional.
It’s the only way I do things,” he says.
Nods to the location are woven in throughout.
Inspired by his grandmother, Ben added rain barrels to catch water from the gutters for the flowers.Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
The checkerboard flooring is made up of repurposed granite and marble countertop remnants from an area stone shop.
The siding and framing feature wood milled in Ben’s ownScotsman Manufacturingworkshop.
“Using cypress was important for that; it’s beautiful and lasts longer.”
Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
The greenhouse also comes with a built-in narrative.
The woodworker also crafted the white oak tables inside and garden gates for the stacked-stone walls.
“Erin said, ‘I want a bench out under the tree to watch the girls climb.’
So I started researching, because I wanted something real that would be here forever.
Somehow, I stumbled onto reading about the ones in Central Park,” he explains.
Erin Napier
Ben wanted the girls to feel like it was a magical place.
“Most important, there are railing pieces fromTitanic!
“says Erin, who saw the film 13 times in theaters when it premiered.
“My dad and I even built a modelTitanictogether.
Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
I was obsessed, mostly with the music.”
He tracked down some salvaged pieces that were for sale and bought nine metal stanchions.
“She has been the greatest resource and an inspiration.”
A table that belonged to Ouida and James Rasberry, Erin’s grandparents, anchors the gravel space. Garden tools, trinkets, and pots going back three generations on both sides of her family are used throughout.Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
And since no detail is too small to consider, he grew’Peggy Martin' roses along thefence.
For the girls, they added blackberry bushes, pear trees, and a wide array of blooms.
“They love to make bouquets for friends.
(Erin thinks it was because they were pink.)
That was fine, though, because they tried them.”
Credit:LAUREY W. GLENN; Styling: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
