The Ruderal Garden (2024-)

The Ruderal Garden is a semi-wild, semi-cultivated landscape. It’s an artistic research project exploring the potential of ruderal plants – often seen as undesirable weeds – in strengthening ecosystems and decontaminating polluted cityscapes. The Ruderal Garden is run by Garden Loops – in collaboration with Färgfabriken and Yannick Woudstra - Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant sciences at Stockholm University.

Ruderal plants inhabit environments usually considered inhospitable to human eyes – cracks in sidewalks, industrial sites, waste disposal areas – but are in fact rich and diverse ecosystems. In The Ruderal Garden, we explore the idea of the gardener as a multispecies actor (human, animal or plant) who cares for the Garden. The project takes place at Färgfabriken, where we will build an exhibition garden which embeds our ideas and research on ruderal landscapes in public space. The garden will be built as a pilot project in 2024 and will evolve over the next two years. This garden will be open to the public and aims to engage and educate about ruderal landscapes.

Workshops and events

26 October 2025 ︎︎︎ Workshop: Explore & Draw
02 October 2024 ︎︎︎ Workshop: The Collective Ruderal Garden, Lecture by Yannick Woudstra
13 June 2024 ︎︎︎ Workshop: Opening - building the Ruderal Garden, Ant walk by Carmela Omil

02 October 2024 ︎︎︎ Exhibition, The Collective Ruderal Garden

We had an open call for photos of “Your Local Ruderal Garden” and recieved so many lovely submissions. This was shown in an outdoor exhibition at Färgfabriken.

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02 October 2024 ︎︎︎ Workshop, flora mapping

13 June 2024 ︎︎︎ Workshop, build small habitat

10 June 2024 ︎︎︎ Opening week

The Ruderal Garden is a garden where we don’t plant seeds, but rather enable other species to inhabit and shape the garden. Our job is to open up and rearrange - all materials used are waste found around lövholmen.

14 May 2024 ︎︎︎ Pulling up asphalt

Lövholmen, Stockholm; a landscape of asphalt and rubble. The remenants of the industrial area are very prominant here. Only Cementa, the concrete factory, is still active as always. The rest of Lövholmen is pretty much post-industrial wasteland, with private landowners waiting for the green light to build expensive apartment buildings. However, right now, this landscape exists in a state of in-between. With Färgfabrikens konsthall in the midst of this barren area, we proposed to them a project embracing the ones who thrive in the inbetween. On their parking lot we will create a garden for ruderal species - plants especially well equipt for landscapes severely affected by human activity.

And so, here is our Garden: a dusty ‘L’ carved into the asphalt. A place for plants to roam and root. It is not a mole hill or a ploughed spot, but most definitely a piece of naked soil in an unforgiving sea of grey.

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2026 Garden Loops