'My Italian garden is a joy for the senses!"

Rustic paving, a weathered oak pergola and pastel planting with plenty of scents are the key elements in Eloise Macgarvey's stunning Med-inspired sanctuary

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Moving from London to the Somerset area for work more than 10 years ago, Eloise and her husband, Ted, always had a fantasy of a Mediterranean garden at the back of the house they purchased. 'Ted was brought up around here and we wanted a quieter life and a dog, so when a job came up locally it was a great opportunity to return,' Eloise explains. Having secured their three-bedroom detached property overlooking fields, there was some work to be done on the house itself, and the garden took a back seat. 'We realised that what the house really needed was a kitchen-diner that we could eat and relax in with friends, which would mean an extension,’ says Eloise. ‘It’s not a big garden and there was no point doing much to it as it would all need to come up again. So, we left the basic patio as it was and the only thing we did do was to plant two olive trees as a reminder of our dream, because we knew they'd take time to mature.’

THE PROJECT