Dedicated urbanites can still smell the roses amidst the diesel. Below are a few of my London summer-time picks. Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine Pavilion are easy green options.

Shoppers can catch some rays at Q, Selfridge’s pop-up terrace restaurant.

For something a bit buzzier visit Granary Square at King’s Cross where daily street vendors sell everything from Mexican tacos to Mumbai meatballs to Falafel wraps. It’s the edible U.N. here, otherwise known as Kerb street food collective.

You can watch the boats pass by.

Or follow the tennis.

And for a special garden treat outside central London –  Petersham Nurseries near Richmond Park is unbeatable. Its bohemian glasshouse restaurant (dirt floors, sublime food, cool staff) and the chic garden shop make the journey well worth it.

Fragrance maker Jo Malone believes in the power of gardens to provide solace and lift the spirit. Jo Malone Urban Community Garden Project  supports gardens in deprived areas in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol. Buy a Silk Blossom Home Candle in the UK to help this cause, and bring a little piece of garden home.

July, 2014

* Petersham Nursery photo courtesy of Keiko Oikawa

The post Don’t Forget Your Sunscreen appeared first on Elena Bowes.

I visited the pop-up park yesterday (closes April 19), and the all exposed-brickwork park was rocking. A skater told me that pros are interspersed amidst the amateurs.

“How can you tell which are the pro’s?” I asked.

“They’re the ones who are really good at skating,” he said.

And for those drawn to the free spirit attitude of skateboarding but not sure their bodies are up to the task, invest in the look at Selfridges which is selling limited edition designer decks.

Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto may never have been on a skateboard, but the septuagenarian designer is still a rebel at heart. He put an X-ray of his own skull on his exclusive Selfridges skateboard. I also like the skater-designed boards, specifically Benny Fairfax’s Palace Anguilla one. I liked it so much it’s hanging on my wall. Yamamoto’s board may be a limited edition, but his young-at-heart attitude, thankfully, is not.

April, 2014

The post Half-Pipe Skates to Selfridges appeared first on Elena Bowes.