"How do you trim ornamental grass?" is a question I get frequently. Most people understand that ornamental grass needs a good "haircut," at some point, after it has turned brown. It's just a question of when.

While some tidy folks may prefer to trim ornamental grass at the end of autumn, to give the landscape that "clean-cut" look before winter sets in, I think more of us prefer to do it in spring. Heck, winter interest is one of the main excuses for growing ornamental grass.

So much for what might be considered the "when" part of the question. But as Marie Iannotti has recently pointed out in her blog, the question of method (i.e., the "how," properly speaking) may be worth considering, too -- if you want to avoid making a mess when you trim ornamental grass. Otherwise, your garden will end up looking like a barber shop floor, after a customer has just left!