TimeOut London: A Beautiful Pleasure Garden has Popped in London for the Summer

Chill out in this Colourful Summer Wonderland.

To paraphrase David Byrne: where once there was an exhibition centre, now there’s nothing but flowers.

In fact, various things are happening on the site of the old Earl’s Court exhibition centre this summer, but the most ostentatious is artists Baker & Borowski’s Pleasure Garden, which aims to be both a cool spot to hang out, and a concerted attempt to (temporarily) rewild this patch of ultra-built-up West London, filling it with a riot of colour and life.

Photo by Bea Campbell

Part of The Kensington + Chelsea Festival and the KCAW Public Art Trail, the temporary garden is all sustainable and locally sourced, and intends to encourage visitors to do the same with what land they may have. It’s vividly colourful, packed full of chrysanthemums, red hot pokers, lavender, cornflowers, tansy, allium and poppies, and will no doubt look terrific on the ol’ Insta. But it’s also intended as a calm, family-friendly space, particularly aimed at people visiting the adjacent London Wonderground pop-up festival running over the summer. Fancy summer holidays may not be a thing this year, but it’s some consolation having exotic new landscapes to can visit without even leaving London.

Baker & Borowski’s Pleasure Garden is open until August 31.