There's also a prolific vegetable garden and a whimsical, living building of espaliered Monterey pear trees. Time, sustained work, and a sense of adventure have given the garden personality, ineffable depth, and a dug-in complexity.

Despite his love of tradition and timeless materials, he would never forsake his own century or create a replica of the past.

"I live today," says David, who keeps contemporary Swedish rubber chairs on the dining terrace and has a modernist, corrugated sheet metal toolshed, designed by Austin architect Mell Lawrence.

He is also quick to insist that his is an American garden, though people often tell him that it evokes southern Europe -- especially the formal lawn that rolls out from the northeast side of the house.

"This was never meant to be a Tuscan villa," David says. "In places, it reminds me of Mexico, northern Africa, Cyprus, northern Italy, Spain, and France, but it doesn't pretend to be any of those things. While it would be foolish to say I didn't have any influences from other places, it really is just a Texas garden, full of what I can grow in Texas."