The past 4 weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. COVID-19 has swept the nation and has caused fear among all of us. At Watergrasshill we have been focusing this time to improve our Bed & Breakfast, so that when this all passes, we are offering an even better Hudson Valley lodging accommodation to our guests.
One of the most attractive features of our New Paltz Bed & Breakfast is the property itself. The house is set on 15 acres of picturesque farmland and features stunning views of the Shawangunk mountains. Our guests love relaxing on the front porch with their cup of coffee in the morning or glass of wine in the evening. They often tell us how they needed a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and our peaceful, countryside retreat in New Paltz is exactly what they were looking for. We love hearing this and it encourages us to continue to put more time into improving our outdoor space.
Spring always comes with a list a mile long of outdoor cleanup. However, since we have more than enough time on our hands this year, Austin and I have been plugging away at odd jobs around the house, that we have been wanting to tackle for quite some time. To start, we pulled out an old metal bench that needed some serious TLC. After washing it off, I wire-brushed it and spray painted it black. I think it came out pretty great! We are going to place this in one of the gardens so that guests have another place to relax.
My Grandma absolutely loved her gardens and it has brought be so much joy to bring them all back to life. We opened almost 3 years ago and each year I have spent endless hours in the gardens revamping them. The bones were there but almost everything was overgrown. After trimming, transplanting and adding new plants they are really flourishing again. One of my favorite additions last year was the blue hydrangea that we planted on each side of the front steps. The blue really pops against the color of the house and I think they are very welcoming at the entrance. This year I have started to weed, trim and rake out the mulch. Looking forward to getting more plants and seeing everything in full bloom!
A few days ago we enjoyed the warm weather and started to clean up the old outhouse. We pressure washed it and have to sand it next. The goal is to to paint it the same color as the house. Fun fact: the current color of the outhouse is the old color of the house when my grandparents owned it.
Of course after all our hard work we enjoyed a class of wine on the back patio. Though it is extremely difficult, it is so important to stay positive through this. For everyone at home, consider taking this time to do things that you have pushed off for years. For everyone on the front lines, we thank you for all of your hard work and endless giving. We will get through this together. Once this passes we cannot wait to have guests back and share all of these improvements with them.