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A well-designed home garden can increase the value of your home by as much as 15%. Your home garden is the first thing people see when they approach your home its appearance can complement your home’s interior. Looking for ideas to redesign your home garden to boost your property’s value? These 12 home garden design inspirations will work magic for the appeal of your property, regardless of the size of your yard. 1. Use curved lines Instead of straight lines, use curved lines in your garden design. Curved lines create a free-flowing layout that is more inviting. They make your garden beds more exciting. Since people can’t see what lies ahead of the bend, this design lures them to wander around the yard. Curved lines let you adapt the natural scenery and introduce elements of surprise into the design. 2. Attract local wildlife Making your garden a haven for the local wildlife is a great way to add value to your home. Adding native plant varieties and bee-friendly plants to the garden will attract pollinators to your yard. You can increase buyers’ interest in your home by including features like a hedgehog highway, bird feeders, bee hotels, and ponds. 3. Create a patch for vegetables/herbs Including a place where you can grow organic vegetables allows you to have ample supplies of your favorite veggies. More importantly, you make your home attractive to health-conscious buyers, who are usually more affluent than the average buyer. Creating a vegetable or herb garden can be as simple as hanging baskets or container gardening. 4. Living walls A vertical wall– or a living wall – is a great way to inject drama into your garden space. A living wall can be positioned anywhere in the yard as long as you choose the right plants for that part of your garden. Your living wall can follow a complex design, or it can be a basic one. 5. Create zones Zoning areas of your garden lets you maximize the available space. You create a versatile multifunctional space that caters to various uses. It also helps you to organize the area, and you will use the garden more often. Some of the different zones you can create in a garden include a children’s play area, private area, or outdoor cooking area. 6. Add distinct levels If your land is sloping and you don’t like adding stone steps to the garden, you can level out your garden by decking the sloping area. This cost-effective solution delivers a seamless look that will easily integrate into your existing lawn. You can even design the different levels of the garden as separate zones. 7. Build a retaining wall A retaining wall serves two important purposes. If your yard has a steep slope, you can use the retaining wall for erosion control. A retaining wall can also convert a sloped yard into usable space. There is no limit to the materials you can use in your retaining wall or how you can use the space created with the retaining wall. 8. Plant trees Mature trees add value to your home; if you don’t have any in the garden, now is the time to plant them. Trees block the sun's glare and serve as anchors for lights or décor. They also attract pollinators to your garden. When choosing trees, select a combination of single-stem and multi-stem trees with layered under-planting. 9. Add beautiful paving The hardscape elements of your garden design increase the wow factor of your yard. A paved walkway of dimensional or irregular bluestone to contrast with the surrounding plants. It is a great way to break up large expanses of space. You can design the walkway to coordinate with the colors of the plants and flowers in your garden. 10. An entertaining outdoor space This is essentially a living room that is designed for the outdoors. This space can have an elaborate design with an outdoor kitchen, pizza oven, wine fridge, and entertainment system. It can be as simple as defining an area with pavers and including an outdoor dining room set. Your garden will see more activity if it has an outdoor room. 11. Beautiful outdoor lighting Good lighting does a lot for a garden. Use lights to draw attention to specific features. Good lighting makes it easier to navigate the garden. It is possible to keep using a garden after sunset if it is well-lit. Photos of the beautiful garden illuminated by fairy lights, wall lights, festoon lights, ground lights, and freestanding lamps are a great selling point for your property. 12. Invest in nice garden furniture Invest in good furniture that is eye-catching and durable. You want your garden furniture to promote the image of your garden as a great place to relax and have fun. The furniture should be suitable for different kinds of uses. They must be comfortable, and you should be able to move the pieces around without bumping into anything. These are a few reasons why a home garden can increase the value of your home. In other words, if you are fortunate enough to have a front and rear garden, make the most of the area and entice potential purchasers with a tidy, peaceful spot to rest and grow plants.

Bees and other pollinators are essential for our food system. They pollinate more than 75% of the crops we eat, and they also help to pollinate wild plants. However, pollinators are in decline, due to a number of factors including habitat loss, climate change, and the use of pesticides. There are a number of things you can do to support bees and pollinators in your garden. Here are a few tips: Plant a variety of flowers that bloom throughout the year. This will provide a continuous source of food for pollinators. Choose plants that are native to your area. Native plants are adapted to your local climate and conditions, and they are more likely to attract pollinators. Plant flowers in clusters. This will make them easier for pollinators to find. Avoid using pesticides. Pesticides can harm pollinators, so it is best to use organic methods of pest control. Provide water for pollinators. Bees and other pollinators need water to drink and bathe. You can provide water for them by placing a birdbath or shallow dish of water in your garden. Leave some dead wood in your garden. Dead wood provides a home for bees and other pollinators. Get involved in your community. There are many organizations that are working to protect pollinators. You can get involved by volunteering your time or donating to these organizations. Here are some of the best plants to have in your garden to attract bees and other pollinators: Coneflowers Echinacea Goldenrod Lavender Milkweed Sunflowers Yarrow By following these tips, you can help to create a garden that is a haven for bees and other pollinators.

Twelve years ago, Dan Buettner visited communities around the world known for having many centenarians (people who live to be 100 or older), including Okinawa in Japan , the Barbagia region of Sardinia and the Seventh Day Adventist enclave in California. Buettner, an author and longevity expert, called these areas “Blue Zones.” He and his team of researchers wanted to find similarities among the residents that lead to a longer, happier and healthier life. Some are things you might expect, like a mostly plant-based diet, a strong social support group and moderate exercise. But there is one surprising commonality: In each community, residents garden well into old age. That’s no coincidence, as there’s plenty of research to prove that gardening increases well-being and longevity. Why gardening could help you live longer 1. It gets you into nature. Exposure to sunlight, fresh air and plant life all have health benefits. In fact, doctors in Scotland prescribe “nature walks” for high blood pressure and anxiety. They also encourage patients to interact with the surroundings, whether that means bird-watching or collecting twigs. In a famous 1984 study , environmental researcher Roger Ulrich found that patients who had their gallbladders removed recovered faster — and with less pain medication — if their hospital rooms looked out on nature rather than a brick wall. Nature is restorative, he noted , because “we have a kind of biologically prepared disposition to respond favorably to nature because we evolved in nature. It was good to us, and we tend to respond positively to environments that were favorable to us.” If being around nature is good for you, then being consistent about it is even better, which is something that gardening pretty much forces you to do. You may try to jog every day in the park, but then blow it off for a few weeks when your schedule gets too busy. If you stop tending to a garden midway, however, you’re liable to see all your hard work go to waste as weeds take over everything. 2. It’s good exercise. Is gardening the equivalent of running a triathlon? Of course not, but it still qualifies as exercise. Different types of gardening require different amounts of physical activity. “Working in the garden restores dexterity and strength, and the aerobic exercise involved can easily use the same number of calories as might be expended in a gym,” according to Richard Thompson , a researcher at London’s Royal College of Physicians. Turning the earth and digging up stones, for example, can be one of the most effortful things you’ll ever do. At the other end of the spectrum, pruning roses bushes and planting seeds constitute very mild exercise. 3. You’ll eat what you grow. This benefit won’t apply if you only grow decorative plants such as flowers and shrubs. But if you grow fruits and vegetables, as folks in the Blue Zones do, you’ll gain the health benefits of adding these items to your daily diet. Not only will you be eating more plants, you’ll also get more nutrition from them. Most fruits and vegetables lose 30% of nutrients three days after harvest due to respiration — a natural process by which they continue to “breathe” after they’re removed from the ground. (If you buy produce in a supermarket, there’s a high probability it was picked several days earlier or even longer.) In terms of reducing the time between harvest and consumption, nothing beats pulling a berry off a bush and popping it into your mouth, or tearing off lettuce leaves to prepare a salad. Plus, it tastes a lot better. 4. It exercises your mind, while also relieving stress. Most of us spend our work lives planning and problem-solving. Gardening requires these skills, too, but it also forces you to be in the moment, often by confounding the plans you made. Sometimes you step into your garden and do exactly the task you intended. But other times you have to change course because, say, you notice a fungus infestation or that a bunch of produce is suddenly ready to be harvested. Working in the garden and dealing directly with the natural world also has a way of slowing down busy thoughts and relaxing your mind. In one study conducted in the Netherlands , 30 people were assigned a stressful task, followed by 30 minutes of either reading or gardening. Those who gardened recovered from the stress much more quickly, based on both their own reports and a test measuring the level of the “stress chemical” cortisol in their bodies. No wonder so many mindfulness experts consider gardening as a form of meditation . Exercising your green thumb This summer, for the first time, my husband and I planted a straw bale garden , which is just what it sounds like: Vegetables, fruits and flowers planted directly into bales of straw. This is a great choice if you’re not ready to invest the money or time needed to dig a garden bed. Those who prefer to start small may want to consider tomato plants, which are easy to grow and can live in pots. Leafy greens such as lettuce are also perfect gateway plants for inexperienced gardeners. With the exception of chard, most are cool-seasoned and perform best in late summer and early fall. Herbs are lovely for those who live in small apartments with less outdoor space. Basil, for example, can be nursed on a sunny windowsill (just remember to bring it indoors when temperatures dip). Mint plants like ample moisture, so they do well in spaces with more shade. Whatever you choose, it’s worth giving gardening a try. The time you spend with your hands in the dirt might come back to you as extra years of life. Minda Zetlin is a freelance writer covering business, money and leadership. She is also the co-author of “The Geek Gap” and former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors . Follow her on Twitter @MindaZetlin .