Not burning down the house

More appropriate on the plains of South America than in a small urban garden, but now almost impossible to remove as the sharp blades can cut you to shreds and any attempt to set fire to it, as is traditional, would probably burn the house down. Still, at this time of year it's almost worth having.

Cortaderia selloana

Tickling Sticks

I've cut myself on this pampass grass more times than I have shaving. It's so invasive and most days I wish I'd never grown it, from seed, about 8 years ago, but today it was looking good. Typical - just when I was planning on killing it. I'm always cutting it back, cutting myself and ending up with loads of nasty sharp bits to dispose of. Usually, I dry them out and burn them. I had thought of thatching my shed with them, but haven't got round to that yet, although I do use the long-stemmed flower/seed heads to remove cobwebs from those tricky places. Tickling stick is the correct term I believe. As a kid, the woody stems made great arrows.