Ruderal

12/05/2026

In Season: Lilacs!
A “Syringarium” is a collection of lilacs, or Syringia vulgaris. At the Syringarium in the National Botanical Garden of Georgia, crowds gather each year from late April to early May to visit the collection in full bloom. Giorgi Managadze, head of the Park Construction Department, founded the collection in 1970, bringing varieties from other Syringariums of the USSR, namely Kyiv, Minsk, and Moscow. Today, there are 700 specimens, including 113 different varieties of about 10 species.

The syringarium is sited on terraces high above the Leghvtakhevi Ravine, offering wide views of the cityscape, with Narikala Fortress in the foreground. The flowers are in shades of burgundy, pink, lilac, deep purple, magenta, white, and variegated tones. The spring winds sway the heavy-headed pannicles in waves, in a cloud of lilac fragrance.






#

13/04/2026

In Season: Roots, Grass and Branches
Much of Georgian Orthodox Easter tradition seems to revolve around composing a sort of a “still life”: Jejili/ჯეჯილი, a wheat grass is grown on a plate for this occasion; Easter eggs are dyed red with Endro/ენდრო, the roots of Rubia Tinctorum, placed in and around Jejili and around a P***a cake. It is a ritual of arranging things. This arrangement, in sync with a Christian artistic tradition, is an allegorical image, where each of the elements signify a moment from the Easter narrative.

This narrative begins on Bzoba/ბზობა (Palm Sunday), named after Bza/ბზა (Boxwood), a local palm substitute. Around the holiday Boxwood is usually sold around churches, and elsewhere. On the day of Bzoba it enters many homes and finds its place, often hanging on a wall.

Before they are arranged at home, these three plants – the roots, the grass and the branches – decorate the urban space, many times creating small bits of seasonal still life, overflowing from different crates, buckets and bags. The roots are tied in small bundles and piled up, sometimes placed next to regular eggs. Walking through the markets, Jejili especially covers large ground, creating elevated grass patches. It is often placed in plastic plates, a tried and true method for growing it the fastest.

“In Season” is a collaboration between Archil Tsereteli ( ) and Ruderal, to highlight seasonal plants and their representation in Georgian culture.

05/04/2026

March was the season of violets.
It’s common to see these spring ephemerals sold in Tbilisi streets at the season's arrival.
A violet holds a special place in a Georgian mind. For many, the first lesson of the first schoolbook they encounter comes in a form of a palindrome “აი ია”: what one would say when spotting a violet emerging from the brown leaves of spring woodlands – “ here’s a violet”.

The lesson comes from დედა ენა (Deda Ena/Mother Tongue: Alphabet and the first reading book) first published in 1865, devised and written by Iakob Gogebashvili, a pioneer of the Georgian language literacy movement.

“აი ია” is a poetic sentence conjured with two letters and It’s also a visual poem. Gogebashvili’s დედა ენა can be considered an important work in Georgian book design. It was using a newly built typeface and Gogebashvili even created a larger size of an older typeface, which later would be named after the book.

Gogebashvili’s own version of the book has been published 45 times, and its revisions are systematically published until this day. The structure of the palindrome repeats in different forms with different drawings of violets. A popular subject for illustration, perhaps all the iterations could make for a whole field of flowers and reflect well the variety of Viola species found in Georgia.

The original poster from 1984
for Gori’s Vocal-instrumental ensemble “აი ია”
by Gori’s Palace of Pioneers and schoolchildren
Exact author unknown

Audio: ლია გეგელია - ია, ია

In Season is a collaboration between Archil Tsereteli and Ruderal. Campaign aimed to highlight seasonal plants and their representation in Georgian culture and beyond.

23/03/2026

While the new renovations at Vere Park are much needed, yet planting design seems a bit...underthought? თბილისის მერია / Tbilisi City Hall let's get together to discuss using more Georgian endemics grown locally (good for the economy) improve biodviersity (good for the planet) and create more shade? (good for people) Nandina, Pittosporum, some sad Abies? Lollipop trees don't cool people, nor pavements.
Perhaps the white rocks will hide cigarette butts?

20/01/2026

Hippodrome Park Competition in Romania: Register now!

The Romanian Order of Architects (OAR), with the support of Mureș Territorial Branch of OAR, and the Contracting Authority –...

10/09/2025

An Exclusive Interview with The Ancient, Giant Plane Tree of Telavi
https://ruderal.substack.com/p/exclusive-interview-with-the-ancient
New on the Substack!

Guest editor Ben Arenstein nabbed this exclusive with one of Telavi's icons

22/08/2025

New on the Substack: https://ruderal.substack.com/p/the-fertile-sections-of-lower-manhattan "Lower Manhattan hosts a history of late 20th century site-specific artworks interpreting nature in the city. Some extant, some ephemeral, these urban works by conceptual artists Hans Haacke, Agnes Denes and others foreground vegetation’s symbolic, productive, projective and transformative capabilities. As designers and artists engineered and built fertile sections to support life over piers, railway lines, and other infrastructures, they advanced technical know-how in landscape architectural technology."

Material and Imaginative Natures in Lower Manhattan, 1968-2008

12/06/2025

Landscape levels for living. Tabakhmela residence. Vertical planning, planting design, forest restoration, and shade structure design for a private home near Tbilisi. Many thanks to the client for trusting our vision!

09/06/2025

In ever hotter summers in Tbilisi, open space and shade are critical to quality of life. Historic Gudiashvili Square is an oasis in the dense blocks of the old city, but its trees are suffering from years of neglect and damage. During a recent renovation, Ruderal designed a new layer of planting to replace the ailing canopy over time. The method is applicable to other cities with mature trees or damaged tree canopies to ensure uninterrupted shade for all citizens.

A new layer of trees will provide continuity as older plantings succumb to disease and age.

28/05/2025

Did you know Ruderal has a Substack?
https://ruderal.substack.com/
We are publishing and building our community on Substack, with in-depth news on projects, people and places.
Please subscribe - it’s free - and tell a friend. Subscriptions include a quarterly email newsletter…we won’t clog your inbox.