Tall Grass and Reeds

First cut lengths, about three inches long, of regular sisal twine to fit into a small container (I used a test tube).  Slightly twist open each piece of twine to help get the stain to each strand. With three or four lengths of twin in the test tube, add a few drops of dark green paint to it and some water, then shake it up to stain the twine. Stain other lengths of twine with other earth tones. Remove the twine and let it dry. Grasping one end of a piece of twine, untwist it with your fingers of your other hand and cut it to about two inches long. Holding it at one end, lay the twine flat on your scenery (this will only work if you used foam or ceiling tile or other soft material, otherwise you will have to drill holes in the plaster) and using a small, flat screw driver, put the blade of the screw driver on a few strands of twine and push the twine down into the scenery. Then pull the rest of the twine away and repeat the process until the twine is used up. By not centering the screw drive on the length of twine the grass will have different lengths and by varying the angle of the blade and not working in a straight line the grass/reeds will look natural. You can also make dense stands or a few sparce clumps.

stained lengths of twine

cut to length and untwisted

pushing the twine in a few strands at a time

tall dead reeds on my Grants Pass Railroad

various colours

shorter green grass clumps