The Hidden Gardens

The Hidden Gardens of Park Close in North Acton, London, is a quiet area. Six terrace homes stand across the street from a park erected after a bomb destroyed the opposite numbered houses during the last war. If houses could talk, they certainly would have something to say about the inhabitants of this interesting terrace!


Venus, the sub-editor of a television programme, lives in Number 6 with her husband Benji, a chef, and their baby. She decides it’s high time society knows about Hidden Gardens and plans to feature her neighbourhood in a makeover segment that explores the beauty of the gardens and the goings-on of its occupants.


Once the project gets started, she finds out things she never knew about her neighbours. There’s Millie, a beautiful 20-something single mum; Mike, a handsome and unhappily married accountant; Damian and Guy, a gay couple; Malcolm, the neighbourhood tough guy and maintenance operator, his downtrodden wife, Linda, their pregnant 15-year old daughter, and their shy son; and Edna, a bedraggled 80-year-old.


All of these lives intersect as the programme comes to fruition and each resident learns just how amazing their little neighbourhood truly is. This wonderfully entertaining story is generously peppered with humour, mystery, romance, and unforgettable characters.