Bowman's Hill Wildflower
Preserve
New Hope, Pennsylvania
May 2008
In October 1934, the Washington
Crossing Park Commission set aside 100 acres of Washington Crossing
Historic Park to become the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. This
acreage was home to variety of habitats and a great deal of
botanical diversity. Since then the Preserve has augmented the rich
native flora of the site with plants from throughout Pennsylvania.
Today they claim to have nearly half of the 2,000 plant species
that are native to Pennsylvania growing on the site. They've done
this without altering the basic character of the place so walking
the trails feels like a walk through rich native
woodlands.
The entrance from the road does not
really give you a sense of the place. The entry sign is placed at
the edge of a large meadow but the Preserve itself is very wooded.
Passing this sign you drive another few hundred yards before
passing through a deer-proof gate and into the Preserve. Once you
pass through the gate, all is wooded.
Everything about the site is very rustic and low key. The Visitor
Center is small and unassuming.
The trails are well-graded and
well-marked but feel like they are just native paths that have been
defined by wood edging.
A lovely small creek runs through the
property, contributing to the diversity of habitats. The stone dam
and 'picket fence' overlook are new but built to maintain the
rustic character of the place.
The only thing that really smacks of modern is the deer fence that
greets you every time your trail meets the edge of the Preserve.
You can pass through the gate and go out into the surrounding park.
This picture is obviously taken from the outside.
The beauty of the place isn't just
the walk through the woods. The forest floor holds an abundance of
wildflowers. In keeping with the naturalistic feel of the Preserve,
plant labels are kept to a minimum. I saw only a handful during our
tour. You can pick up a laminated sheet of flower pictures at the
Visitor Center, and a seasonal list of wildflowers likely to be
seen in bloom. These were helpful but very limited in scope. You'd
need to carry a good field guide to really identify what you're
seeing. While I appreciate that plant labels can interfere with the
ambience of such a natural site (and they could be a maintenance
nightmare), I think the visitor experience would be greatly
enhanced by additional plant identification tools. Discrete plant
labels would be one answer, but with today's technology maybe they
could create a visual handheld tour, similar to the audio tours
many places offer. I must admit I've never seen one but I don't
think it's unrealistic.
Even if you can't identify the plants, you can certainly enjoy
their beauty. My favorite was probably Jack in the Pulpit which
might not qualify as beautiful but is certainly interesting.
I found the Preserve a wonderful
place for a leisurely stroll through the woods. They do a lot of
educational programs to promote their native plants, but I'd like
to see them do more to educate the casual visitor. Better
interpretive material, brochures or signs, would greatly increase
the visitor experience.
Click here to see more photos of Bowman's Hill Wildflower
Preserve.
To visit the official
Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve website, click
here.