braiding down the daffodils

after daffodils bloom and the flowers are spent, the green leaves remain and eventually yellow and die. this dying back into the bulb is necessary for the success of the next year's blooming so the leaves cannot be cut off or mowed down even though they get pretty unsightly. so i gather up the narrow leaves and i braid them, then wrap these braids around the base of the plant to die off there. each year this quiet task saddens me a bit. in the midst of new growth all around, this plant has already lived and died.