As beautiful as gardens are, they can also attract thieves and burglars to your home. Keep the tips below in mind to help protect your home and the valuable plants and additions to your garden.

Shed

Make sure the shed is locked at all times. Replace external hinges (those with screws on the outside) with internal ones. Install locks for windows that open and use putty to make sure that window panes are not easy to lift out of their frames. Secure the different sections of the building, including the roof, using screws or bolts from the inside. Also, consider installing a battery-powered alarm.

Open garden

Use wall and ground anchors to secure heavy furniture left out over the winter. Bolt down valuable containers and statues. Install security lighting that comes on automatically when someone walks past. Lay gravel paths so that intruders make a noise when they enter.

Boundaries

Increase the height of your boundary fence with trellis. Use prickly shrubs such as a thorny rose or berberis on the perimeter.

Plants

Don't put valuable plants in the front of your garden. Make sure to take off plant labels to avoid "advertising" recent additions, which are easy to remove. Be sure to use ground anchors for really valuable plants.

Garden shed
Tore Johannesen/iStockphoto
One way to reduce burglary is replacing external hinges with internal ones in your shed.