“WE knew the boys were going to be tall, so we made the tree house tall,” says the vendor of this Juxon Place, Hamilton Hill home.

Now standing well over 1.8 metres each, the “boys” can probably still stand up in the cute timber cubby set amidst the branches of a massive jacaranda.

This delightful 961sqm homestead is surrounded by an amazing garden that’s great for kids to play in and graze, with grape and passionfruit vines and fruit trees aplenty, including my favourite, a heavily laden guava.

Retired farmer

With a bore and reticulation doing the hard work the riotous semi-native garden isn’t as high care as it looks our retired farmer vendor tells the Herald.

“The cosmos come up and when they’re daggy I just pull them out and they come up again next year,” she says.

“The sweet potato was put there 10 years ago and keeps coming up and the chilli is four years old, and I just clip it off.”

Given the price of bok choy in the stores it’s hard to believe it grows wild here, including on the verge, with neighbours encouraged to help themselves.

As for the four-bedroom/two-bathroom home it’s as refreshingly laid back and country as its vendors: a sprawling, friendly and unfussy abode where country relatives can crash when in town.

A huge open plan living/dining/kitchen is a great place for everyone to gather, and as the crowd grows there’s a second huge living area through the sliding glass doors.

This area can be closed off to form a second dwelling with its own entry if needed, plus generous bedroom and ensuite. The laundry could easily be converted into a second kitchen.

Back in the heart of the home I can imagine the happy mayhem in the kitchen. But with its sweep of benchtops, including an island, and plenty of cupboards and drawers it would be of the organised sort, with nanna at the helm directing the ship and plenty of willing workers in this very generous space.

This really is a great family home, with two primary schools within walking distance, Phoenix shopping centre just up the road and the beaches a short drive away.

by JENNY D’ANGER

1 Juxon Place, Hamilton Hill
from $749,000
Linda Digby
0402 122 267
dethridgeGROVES
9336 1166