By Phyllis Odessey
An old-time Vermonter and neighbor of mine, Albert McAuslan used to say “Phyllis let’s do it the easy way. The easy way is hard enough.” It took me sometime to come around to his point of view.
Jean Hurkin-Torres, member of the Horticulture Crew brings diverse experiences to the world of gardening. 
There are all kinds of gardeners. Some love to do everything by hand and some embrace change. Jean is a tool freak and her obsession just saved us a lot of time.
The ornamental grasses at the Waterfront Garden need dividing. In the past couple of years, we’ve tried to get around to it, but haven’t found the time.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a little window of opportunity and we decided to grab it. “Let’s go up to the waterfront and take a look at the grasses that need to be divided” I said to the crew.
I could see frowns on the faces of the crew. Jean was the exception. She had a smile on her face. “We used a reciprocating saw with a pruning blade at the Battery last year and it cut through the grasses like wood. Using a hand saw is like cutting through rock”
I was doubtful, but decided it was worth a try.
A week later, the reciprocating saw and pruning blade arrived. Now we were ready. It worked like a charm and no one broke into a sweat.
Gardens Randalls 