Taking your garden through summer’s end 

In spring, your garden probably started off looking as lush as Ireland. Now after a season of heat, humidity, at times torrential rain and smoke, your garden looks, well, not like Ireland. Keeping grass, trees and shrubs healthy really begins in the early spring, with an analysis of soil content and an understanding of which plants and grasses are right for your climate zone, said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the”¯TurfMutt Foundation, which encourages people to care for and use their outdoor spaces. (New York City, Westchester County and Long Island are now in the humid subtropical zone, with higher elevations of Westchester still in the cooler humid continental zone. Indeed, New York City is now the northernmost humid subtropical city. Fairfield County is still humid continental.) 

OK, that”™s all food for thought for next year. But what should we be doing with our gardens in what is left of summer? Kriser shares these tips: 

• ”¯”¯”¯”¯Water at the right times.”¯The best time to water the lawn and plants is in the early morning or late evening when it”™s cooler.
• ”¯”¯”¯”¯Don”™t over water.”¯It”™s okay to make your grass work hard for its water, he said. With little water, grass will send its roots deeper, seeking water. The grass then does a better job of sequestering carbon and releasing oxygen.

Also, most turfgrasses””and there are hundreds of species””will go brown during summer months where water is scarcer. It will “green up” again when conditions change. 

• ”¯”¯ ”¯Cut grass long.”¯When mowing, don”™t cut more than one-third of the grass height. By keeping it longer, turfgrass can develop stronger roots and a greater tolerance to heat and drought stress. ”¯
• ”¯”¯”¯”¯Keep foot traffic minimal.”¯For already stressed grass, foot traffic can cause damage. Keep people off the lawn while the heat persists.