Bird of Paradise Lost

The Bird of Paradise plant behind the house was overgrown, and was blocking half the window in the back bedroom, so I set out to divide it up. Online research made it sound easy--just use a sharp knife or shovel to separate the rhizomes and make a new plant.

What was not adequately conveyed on the Internet was that the roots are humongous and tightly intertwined.  I thought the division and replanting would be a one-day project, but at the end of day one, all I'd done was uncover some of the roots and unsuccessfully hack in between them.

Day two didn't go very well, either.  I dug all around and underneath the plant, then tried to cut it with a sharp knife, shovel, bush trimmer, and reciprocating saw.  No luck.

This morning, day three, I bought a chainsaw.  A few minutes later:

I quartered the plant, leaving one piece where it was and moving the rest around the yard.  The back of the house is now more balanced.

 There were big spaces between the trees along the fence...

 ...but now everything looks more filled in.