Kumeu: Going tropical

Not happy with sitting back and soaking up retirement, one energetic couple set their sights on re-creating the garden of their dreams at their exceptional west Auckland property. By VICKI HOLDER.

A blissful life of fishing and playing golf is not all it is cracked up to be, say retired Aucklanders Ivan and Rose Andrews.

"You can have too much of a good thing," jokes Ivan. Instead, the couple used their new-found freedom and boundless enthusiasm and developed the extensive garden on this lifestyle property in Kumeu.

They arrived about six years ago, seeking a peaceful country existence with shops close by and their children just a few minutes away. "It's tranquil, yet there are people around and horses next door, so you don't feel lonely," says Rose.

When they settled into the immaculate, solid, plaster-over-concrete home, the surrounding land had hardly been touched. It provided the energetic pair with a mammoth challenge. Their dream was to recreate a subtropical garden they had fallen in love with while holidaying at the Sheraton in Fiji.

"We had always been fairly active," says Ivan, "and this helped us make the transition from going to work to doing nothing."

When you see the scale of the garden, it's difficult to understand how anybody could call this doing nothing. The entire property resembles a lush resort, with not a blade of grass out of place. Terraced and with structured, gentle paths weaving up through the different levels, each area has its own particular character.

Perched on a plateau along one of the paths behind the house, a large, circular, timber shingled gazebo is a favourite place where the couple enjoy a glass of wine while appreciating the splendid view in the evenings.

Huge level expanses of manicured lawn offer places for children to run and play. It might seem a lot of lawn, but the owners assure the ride-on mower makes short work of it.

The kitchen and living areas look north, down through a lawn planted with islands of queen palms and cabbage trees. It's a stunning aspect, where the canopy allows vistas through a stand of majestic, leggy gum trees beyond. Right at the bottom of the property, a substantial pond, brimming with water lilies, straddles the boundary and attracts native bird life.

Camellias form a sweeping hedge that borders each level below the house, while standard roses trim the front. A multitude of groundcovers - including large sweeps of the gorgeous red Grevillia gaudi chaudi - are trained over polythene for easy maintainance.

The garden wasn't the only thing to come in for a makeover. Ivan and Rose added the woodburner in the casual living area opposite the kitchen. Because it's centrally located between all the living areas, it heats the whole space in winter.

They also added roofs and closed in the open terraces where pergolas once flanked the lounge. Now, all areas link to the casual and dining rooms, bringing an effortless flow for entertaining. Glazed sliding doors surrounding these conservatory-like rooms can be left open or drawn across to shelter from the westerlies.

Chunky, painted timber beams on the ceilings assure these extra outdoor rooms retain a rustic country flavour to complement the warm timber trims throughout the rest of the interior.

Although the house already had three bedrooms, including the master suite off the dining room, a double garage offered an obvious room to extend to give the grandchildren adjacent rooms. By converting this space into two more bedrooms, they gave themselves five bedrooms, one of which has access from the driveway for flexible use as an office. At the same time, they built a new double garage outside with large sliding doors. At some time in the future it could become a games room.

While the Andrews took advantage of the space on the ground floor, the house was designed with roof joists suitable for another storey, should the future owners wish to make the house even bigger.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 92 Pomona Rd, Kumeu.

FEATURES: Lifestyle property with landscaped gardens in semi-rural area close to Riverhead forest and 5km from Kumeu-Huapai; solid plaster home with five bedrooms and two bathrooms; security system with two zones and panic buttons; two hot water cylinders; double garage with potential as games room; substantial pond; septic tank and 5000g water tank; parking for six cars; four storage sheds; night lighting throughout.

SIZE: Land area 9010sq m; floor area 315sq m.

AUCTION: 2pm, November 12, at Bayleys' auction rooms.

AGENT: Shona Jurlina, Bayleys. Ph 416 7788 bus; 021 997 022 mob.