Erin Napier masters a 'quintessentially English cottage' aesthetic in her front yard with this staple spring flower

For anyone already familiar with Erin Napier's style, it will come as no surprise that her front yard follows the same quintessential design ethos. 

Napier, known for blending traditional southern style with quirky English charm, has drawn design inspiration from the most unlikely of places – from a vintage ice cream bar to Mrs. Patmore's kitchen (Downton Abbey fans will know). It is perhaps only fitting, therefore, that her exteriors tap into a similar aesthetic – and to achieve this, she turned to a statement spring favorite: climbing roses.

Despite its Mississippi zip code, the climbing rose allows Napier to tap into a cottage garden aesthetic reminiscent of the most beautiful English country homes – serving as a subtle reminder of what we can find beyond her front door.

The climbing roses are the focal point of Napier's front yard landscaping, but her lantern lighting enhances the English-inspired aesthetic, and the neatly manicured lawn will never fail to look good. The designer's country home is the perfect backdrop for such blooms, but as Rachel Bull, H&G's head of gardens, explains, this look is replicable in spaces far beyond Mississippi. 

'Growing an elegant climbing rose like this around an entryway or backyard patio door is such a wonderful way to embrace scent in your outdoor space. It is also a super romantic look, especially owing to the pale blush tones of these flowers, which really reminds me of the quintessential English cottage garden style,' Bull says.

As Erin hints in her Instagram caption, the beauty of spring flowers can be fleeting, but some roses impress throughout the season every single year. To enjoy the beauty for longer, Rachel suggests investing in a hybrid tea climbing rose, which is exquisitely formed and has pointed 'bud flowers'. Each stem typically holds a single flower with sparse foliage at the base, and the effect is timeless. 

'The best type of rose with which to recreate this look would be a hybrid tea climbing rose. They come in a huge number of colors and varieties,' Bull suggests. 'By training one to grow around a doorway or along a trellis on a patio, you will get to experience a long-flowering season of these gorgeous blooms every year.'

Whether we're looking to train roses to grow around our doorway or around our porch – or taking things to another level and designing a whole rose garden, it's important to invest in the best flowers possible. We recommend shopping at a reliable rose provider, including Burpee, where we often pick up our blooms. 

Rachel Bull

Rachel is a gardening writer, flower grower and floral designer. Her journalism career began 15 years ago on Country Living magazine, sparking a love of container gardening and wild planting. After more than a decade writing for and editing a range of consumer, business and special interest titles, Rachel became editor of floral art magazine The Flower Arranger. She then trained and worked as a floral designer and stylist in London for six years, and has created floral installations at iconic London venues including Kew Gardens, the Barbican and Peckham's Asylum Chapel.

Roses aside, we can get the look with Napier-inspired lanterns, designed to elevate any outdoor space.