James G. Kaskey Memorial Park – Home of the BioPond and Biology Greenhouse

The James G. Kaskey Memorial Park honors its past as the first Botanic Garden of the University of Pennsylvania, bolsters research and educational opportunities within the Department of Biology, and enriches community well-being by creating a verdant oasis for plants and people.

This month in the park:

Camellia japonica 'April Kiss' flowers steal the show.
The diminutive flowers of Viola labradorica 'Purpurea' stand out against the dark leaves.
Spring sunshine illuminates the new leaves of Cercidiphyllum japonicum.
Narcissus 'Barrett Browning' blooms at the base of a red oak, Quercus rubra.
The architectural flowers of Edgeworthia chrysantha bloom before the leaves emerge.
A brown snake, Storeria dekayi, hiding in the cracks of a stone wall.
Spirea has many small flowers that combine to create a frothy floral effect.
Minor blue bulbs, like these Scilla siberica, are in full bloom.
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, grows through the park's patch of trout lilies.
The delicate red flowers of Acer palmatum contrasts perfectly with the fresh emerging foliage.
Spring ephemerals, like Erythronium americanum (the trout lily) take advantage of the spring sunshine in the woodland garden.
Early blooms of Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica, come in many shades of blue, pink, and white.
Ficaria verna, also known as lesser celandine, is an introduced invasive species that, unfortunately, thrives in the moist soils of the park.
Newly emerging fronds unfurling in the fernery.
Narcissus 'Blushing Lady' is one of many cultivars of daffodil blooming right now.
An up close view of the Forsythia hedge in full bloom.
Summer annuals growing in the greenhouse, waiting for warmer weather to be planed in the garden.
The up-close crimson drama of Helleborus x hybridus.
Chionodoxa forbesii blooms amongst the roots of Fagus gandifolia.

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