A father-daughter duo have created the newest obsession among New York’s elite – gardens designed to help you live longer.
Nutritionist Charlotte LaGuardia Abbate and her father, celebrity landscape architect Christopher LaGuardia, invented the ‘Longevity Garden’ – a customized wellness space for homes with the promise of long-term health.
The individually designed gardens have trails, exercise areas and luxe perks like saunas and cold plunges.
Think a little less tomato patch and more wellness retreat at home.
‘There’s a growing awareness around longevity – not just living longer, but living better – and people are starting to see their outdoor space as part of that,’ Abbate told the Daily Mail.
‘They also reinforce an important principal: health is highly individual. What works for one person might not be the right approach for another,’ she added.
After years in their respective worlds, Abbate and her father, the landscape visionary behind LaGuardia Design Group, discovered their fields weren’t so different.
‘One day we were just talking about how health isn’t just about diet or just about movement, the environment plays a big role,’ Abbate explained.
Nutritionist Charlotte LaGuardia Abbate and her father, celebrity landscape architect Christopher LaGuardia invented the ‘Longevity Garden’
Abbate sums up garden longevity in three elements: food that fuels the body, pathways that invite movement and serene nooks for rest
‘We thought: what if we could create outdoor spaces that support every aspect of well-being?’ she added. ‘Gardens that not only grow food but also encourage people to move, breathe, unwind and really connect with the space around them.’
What began as all-consuming late-night chats quickly snowballed, and the longevity garden took on a life of its own – a layered, lavish and highly detailed project.
But these gardens aren’t just add-ons to the firm’s famed designs. They’re sprawling, high-end projects reshaping how people experience life within their own home.
‘There are a few different layers to what makes these gardens supportive of long-term health and lifestyle, and that’s what makes them so exciting to design,’ Abbate said.
‘The gardens become more than just something to look at. They become something that actually supports your health and lifestyle everyday,’ she added.
Nutrition
Calling fruits and vegetables the ‘true fountain of youth,’ Abbate and her father craft each garden to deliver a rich harvest of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
‘We incorporate a wide range of edible plants – fruits, vegetables, herbs – chosen not just for flavor or beauty, but for their health benefits,’ Abbate told the Daily Mail.
‘Because they’re growing right outside your door, clients are more likely to eat fresh, seasonal foods and stay connected to what they’re putting in their bodies,’ she added.
Calling fruits and vegetables the ‘true fountain of youth,’ Abbate and her father craft each garden to deliver a rich harvest of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
For example, Abbate said if a client is gut focused, they will plan mint, fennel, cabbage, asparagus and radishes ‘to support motility and growth of beneficial microbes’
‘If someone is gut focused, we are planting mint, fennel, cabbage, asparagus and radishes to support motility and growth of beneficial microbes,’ Abbate explained.
‘If someone is more interested in supporting cognition, we would choose things like rosemary, sage, blueberries, beets and broccoli, which have been shown in research to support memory and brain health,’ she added.
A space to move
Custom paths, unique to each garden, are designed to keep clients active and connected to their outdoor space.
‘Sometimes it’s a quiet loop for a morning stroll, other times its a more dynamic space where people can stretch, practice yoga, strength train or just stay active in a natural way,’ Abbate said.
Knowing that staying active is key to a long, healthy life – supporting muscles, bones, and metabolism – these gardens are all about keeping you moving effortlessly.
‘Some might be interested in a fitness platform for yoga or strength training, another might be more suited for a labyrinth for a slower paced activity,’ she explained.
Charlotte LaGuardia Abbate enjoys some relaxation time
Thinking about mental well-being, the trailblazing duo made sure each garden is perfectly tailored to, in their words, ‘how our clients actually live and how they want to feel’ every single day.
‘It’s all designed to create a calming, restorative environment,’ Abbate said.
‘Just spending time in a beautiful, well-designed garden can reduce stress, improve mood and support cognitive health over time,’ she added.
A detailed and deliberate layout
From winding paths to every perfectly placed planters, each garden is tailored to the client’s lifestyle.
Abbate and her father work with a range of features – from cold plunges and saunas to bocce courts, level lawns, outdoor dining spaces and even apiaries – taking the gardens far beyond your traditional backyard.
Abbate and her father can work with a range of features tailored for each client, from cold plunges and saunas to bocce courts, level lawns, outdoor dining spaces and even apiaries. A sketch done by Christopher LaGuardia
After years in their respective worlds, Abbate and her father (pictured), the landscape visionary behind LaGuardia Design Group, discovered an overlap of their passions: nutrition and architecture
Stunning as it is, the garden’s design focuses on providing a safe haven where the nervous system can relax and rejuvenate.
Research suggests that people who spend more time outside are happier and healthier, with lower rates of chronic disease – all thanks to moving around or simply relaxing in the great outdoors, according to American Psychological Association.
‘Mindfully crafted outdoor spaces can help to mitigate noise and air pollution and provide a space for people to truly unwind,’ Abbate said.
Living well
To the certified nutritionist, longevity isn’t just about living a long time – ‘it’s about living well for as long as possible.’
Abbate sums up garden longevity in three elements: food that fuels the body, pathways that invite movement and serene nooks for rest – the perfect recipe for a balanced body and soul.
‘It’s about feeling good in your body, staying mentally sharp and continuing to do the things you love with the people you care about. That’s the deeper goal behind everything we design,’ she said.
Shockingly, less than half of Americans actually get the fruits and veggies they’re supposed to eat each day, according to the CDC.
The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise adults should consume one-and-a-half to two cups of fruits and two to three cups of vegetables daily.
Each garden’s design focuses on providing a safe haven where the nervous system can relax
Christopher LaGuardia helps to design and tailor each garden to the client’s lifestyle
Eating your fruits and veggies regularly isn’t just good for your waistline – it can cut the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, while also helping your gut and brain.
‘These gardens offer an innovative way to highlight the vital role nutrition plays in long-term health,’ Abbate added.
‘It’s also how in the space evolves with you – how it supports your needs not just now, but five, ten, twenty years down the line,’ she said.
Abbate is quick to stress that these gardens complement, rather than replace, modern medicine and that professional healthcare remains essential in the US.
‘I don’t know many who enjoy visits to the doctor’s office,’ she added. ‘If our gardens can help people stay healthier and reduce the frequency of those visits by promoting a proactive, environment-based approach to wellness, then we’ve truly succeeded.’
Since launching the project, they’ve seen the strongest interest from clients in the Hamptons – Long Island’s ultimate playground for the rich and famous.
While Abbate is quick to stress that these gardens complement, rather than replace, modern medicine, early adopters are raving about the lifestyle upgrade
Abbate and her father predict a boom in interest, convinced their luxurious wellness gardens resonate with the sleek, sophisticated vibe of the ‘clean girl’ movement taking over the internet
‘We’ve seen a real interest in this kind of approach, especially in the Hamptons, where people already value being outdoors and living well,’ Abbate told Daily Mail.
If a client opts to include every possible feature, the finished garden can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million.
‘That’s not to say smaller projects haven’t been done or aren’t possible, it is just not what we see here in the Hamptons,’ Abbate said.
‘The projects aren’t exclusive to the Hamptons either and have been completed all around the Northeast,’ she added.
As the dynamic duo are among the first to bring the concept to life, for now, there’s no evidence that a garden can literally add years – but time will tell.
‘We will have to see what happens over the next 10 years, but I imagine they will become an integral part in the way people take a break from urban living,’ Abbate said.
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