A large property with olive groves and vineyards in the hills near Volterra, the house itself originally felt shut out from the landscape, with no outside seating area and no colourful planting. Overgrown conifers in the front garden were felled, and the irregular façade was unified by a covered seating area and a long pergola, planted with wisteria. A small geometric lawn, edged by a gravel path, is surrounded by a rich mixed border including roses, drought tolerant perennials, scented herbs and grasses, which foster biodiversity and are particularly attractive to butterflies. Two flowering cherries give seasonal colour and summer shade, but allow sun though in winter. To expand the limited area of the front garden, we turned the path to the upper level from a purely functional run of narrow steps to a broad staircase with deep planters, to provide a seating area and panoramic view of the landscape, making it into a focal point for the lower garden.