Memory through landscape: how wartime findings of Leonid Ivanovych Rubtsov became the basis for Mountain Garden creation at the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine

This paper examines the impact of personal wartime experience on the development of creative thinking and professional approaches in landscape architecture. Using the example of Leonid Ivanovych Rubtsov, an outstanding specialist in mountain plants and the founder of the Mountain Garden at the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine, this study analyzes the role of visual materials collected by him during the World War II. Postcards, photographs, and illustrations found among ruins became significant visual sources influencing compositional and spatial decisions in the formation of the garden’s exposition. The content of this collection, its significance for the scientific understanding of natural high-mountain landscapes, and its impact on practical design stages are examined. The study demonstrates how personal memories, historical contexts, and scientific activity were embodied in the creation of a landscape space that today also performs memorial and cultural functions.