Bad Grass 2025 - Steep Rock Preserve’s Holiday House Project
All proceeds from this year’s series will be directed towards our 2025 Partner Project, the revitalization of the "Holiday House" site in the Steep Rock Preserve. Together, we will transform the space into a “ruin garden”, preserving its historical significance while enhancing its natural beauty. The area will be carefully cleared of fallen debris and invasive plant species, allowing the original structural remains to shine. Native plants will be thoughtfully introduced throughout the inner foundation and along its perimeter, complementing the site's heritage. A winding pathway will be installed around the foundation, offering visitors a scenic route to experience the vibrant new flora amidst the timeless, weathered granite walls. Interpretive signage will be added to highlight the rich history of the site, ensuring its story is shared with all who visit.
The “Holiday House” was a 60-bed vacation hotel in Washington Depot, commissioned by wool magnate Edward Van Ingen, the first New Yorker to buy property and build a grand summer house in Washington. In 1892, Van Ingen asked Ehrick Rossiter, the renowned architect and founder of Steep Rock Association, to design a hotel on a hillside overlooking the Shepaug River as a memorial to his oldest daughter who died of scarlet fever. Completed in 1893, Holiday House was conceived as a vacation retreat for working-class women affiliated with Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. It was intended to offer “a delightful outing for girls who have little or none of the joys of life and to whom a trip in the country…means new strength and new life.” The hotel also employed women from Virginia’s Hampton Institute, the alma mater of Booker T. Washington. The hotel was closed and dismantled in 1918. One wing of the building was donated to the town and repurposed as an auxiliary facility for the Washington School, now known as the Washington Primary School.
You can make a tax-deductible gift to Steep Rock Preserve to support the project here.
Bad Grass 2024 - David Hunt Library Pollinator Pathway Project
In 2024, with your support, we got our hands dirty and turned a little bit of bad grass into something better with the David Hunt Library Native Pollinator Project.
Three years ago, Falls Village residents planted the island beds on Main Street with a mix of native perennials and grasses providing habitat and sustenance to birds and butterflies while requiring no watering or fertilization.
In the spring of 2024, we are partnering with the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village to continue this pollinator pathway to the steps of the library building with a planting scheme of native shrubs and perennials.
Special thanks to Deb Munson and Page Dickey for the landscape design, Meadowscapes by Matt’s Landscaping, and you for making it possible. If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift in support of this project, you can do so here.
Bad Grass 2023 - Salisbury Land Trust Native Pollinator Project
Thank you for stopping to smell the flowers at the Salisbury Association Land Trust’s native meadow project. Vincent Field was donated by George & Virginia Vincent in 2006 and in 2022, with support from members of the community, Salisbury Association Land Trust commenced a project to establish this parcel as a native meadow.
Using an organic process, existing vegetation and invasive species were removed leaving the field as close as practicable to a blank slate. Then, a seed mix was applied consisting of over 30 native flower and grass species chosen for this site.
What you see above is predominantly Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). This is a fast-growing, short-lived plant, often referred to as a pioneer species because it quickly moves into disturbed areas. Over time, Black-eyed Susans will give way to other species and the field of gold will become a more varied tapestry.
This project is not just about providing beauty to the community. These plants, native to our area but now scarce, provide important sustenance and habitat for a wide array of pollinators, birds, and animals.
We hope you will stop back periodically to see this project's evolution firsthand.
Special thanks to the community members who supported this vision, Bad Grass 2023, and to Michael Nadeau of Wholistic Landcare for his time and expertise.
To learn more about the meadow-making process, please enjoy this transcript of a conversation between Michael Nadeau and Jeb Breece at Bad Grass 2023.