A Tip for Cutting Fountain Grass

Alright, so before I get into the details of cutting fountain grass, I have a funny story that I was thinking about the whole time I was cutting the grass. My project/yard work time, is my thinking time. It's physical labor that doesn't require much thought, so I tend to let my brain wonder as I work.

As I did my prep work to cut the grass, I forgot to take before pictures. I figured an in-process photo would suffice. I got my camera and took pictures of the grass. Neighbor-boy two houses down was cutting his grass. I put my camera down and started to cut when he turns off his mower and yells to me, "Hey, I can pose for you." He thought I was taking a picture of him! I laughed and said, "No, I'm taking a picture of my grass." My response sounded lame. But he has no idea of my blog and what random things I cover. I went on cutting my grass and he cut his. As I thought about it, it was Sunday, and our neighborhood has rules that you can't mow your yard or do anything that makes a noise disturbance on Sunday's. I like this rule, but many people don't. I like having one day of peace and quiet. So, if he had a guilty conscience, he knew he was breaking a rule and too cool to care. Or he thought I was taking a picture of what he thought was a hot guy mowing his yard.... Neither scenario true, but funny to imagine what he was thinking I was really doing.

Back to the grass. This is my least favorite chore. Laundry is my second least favorite. This grass and I have a hate-hate relationship. Its blades are so tiny and thin, that they cut me EVERY TIME. This time, I made sure to wear long sleeves and gloves, but I wore shorts and my legs were attacked. Next time, I'll wear pants.

I hate cutting these fountain grasses because they make such a mess. I promise I will never have them in another yard. I'm sure my neighbors hate when I cut them because all the strays get blown into their yards. I tried a trick a few years ago and it didn't work. And I was hoping I wouldn't have to cut them this year and just let the new owner deal with them, but I decided to give it another try and be nice.

I attempted to make bundles of the grass. I used duct tape to secure the bundles. I then started cutting.

As I started cutting, the bundles got loose, so I tightened the duct tape so that no lose blades would escape.

This worked! I was able to cut the bundles and lay them aside.

Clean up was the best part. I just shoved the bundles into garbage bags.

Easy and less mess. The mess is considerably less than normal.

Now, the bushes are ready for their new growth and I have less mess. I know the professionals leave no mess behind, but I've never watched them to it to know how they do it, so I came up with my own way.

It makes me like these bushes a little bit more now that I know how to cut them with less mess.

Bring on the Spring! I'm ready for more green!