Many people wouldn’t consider buying a house sandwiched between MoPac expressway, a multi-lane highway with freight trains chugging down the center median, and its neighborhood feeder road. But Cynthia Williams Deegan and her husband, Bobby, have a talent for transforming an unpromising property into an indoor-outdoor paradise.

The couple has design chops, and Cynthia has an artist’s eye for color and creating vignettes. They relocated here in 2013 from Abilene — where they ran a landscape design business and maintained 19 acres of their own, 5 acres of which they gardened — to be near their 4 adult children and their grandchildren. Their creative and soulful new home reflects Austin’s fun-loving spirit and love of nature.

They found a dilapidated Tarrytown house with key features they were searching for: a close-in yet affordable location and a separate living unit they could turn into an Airbnb rental. Cynthia admits she cried when she stood in the over-paved back yard of the rundown house, in view of cars and trucks zooming by on MoPac. But she and Bobby set to work transforming the place, and with trademark humor they named it Via Libre, which translates to Free Way. The Freeway Garden was born.

To create privacy from the busy feeder road out front, they fenced off half of their front yard. Peekaboo sections of cattle panel wire admit breezes and light.

Here’s how the front yard looked in 2016, before they began construction on the garden: a parched lawn, shade tree, small crape myrtle, and nicely curved but tired concrete walk. An awkward front stoop with steep steps was soon enlarged by Bobby, who built a small deck over the existing concrete.

And here it is today, gorgeous and enticing, with a curved cattle-panel fence along the side and a gated entry wall set on the diagonal. A second section of cattle panel spans a koi pond that extends outside the courtyard. The Deegans kept the curvy concrete walk but laid flagstones right on top, over a compacted paver base.

Cynthia daubed on three colors of green to create her favorite mossy shade for the gate, and they ran electricity out to the fence for a welcoming light fixture.

A woven, conical basket on the gate holds a living prickly pear. Perfect for those of us who never remember to water pots. Milagros and elaborate door handles add Mexican style.

By the pond, a stone bench offers a spot to sit and admire the view into the courtyard.

A potted prickly pear and bead-draped St. Francis keep visitors company.

Another prickly pear grows with succulents in the shallow basin of a birdbath.

When you enter through the gates, you’re transported to another world of lush foliage, the dripping sound of water, and shade from a lavender-flowering crape myrtle.

It’s magical how dividing a space into rooms makes that space live larger. In “before” pictures, their open, grassy yard looked meager and unwelcoming. Now it’s a place in which you want to sit and stay.

With a tiered fountain in the pond, metal faux-bois seating, ivy cloaking the walls, and ferns, but with limestone instead of brick, the courtyard has a New Orleans-meets-Austin vibe.

Purple and green foliage mingle at the pond’s edge: Ming fern, Japanese sedge, purple fountain grass, purple heart, and foxtail fern.

Lavender-pink flowers of crape myrtle dangle over the pond.

A pillowed chaise lounge tucks into a shady corner, perfect for stretching out with a book.

Peachy coral waterlily

Mirrors and gazing globes bounce light around during the day. At night, lanterns and overhead string lights glow.

Across the pond, a panel of rusty tin ceiling tiles hangs on the wire fence, adorned with a cow skull.

Cynthia cleverly added stick antlers and ball moss, transforming the cow skull into that of a deer.

Many other antlered deer appear in her home and garden.

Along one section of board fencing, greened up with hacienda creeper, Cynthia hangs thrifted mirrors and old picture frames to create a gallery wall of art.

The empty frames draw the eye to smaller plaques and sculpted pieces centered within.

Baskets and iron hoops and spheres hang from the trees.

Tabletop vignette

Winged hearts are one of Cynthia’s favorite motifs.

As are garden spheres, here “rolling” around in a bed of fig ivy and foxtail fern.

Cynthia’s charming front porch, with generous steps and decking built right over the old concrete stoop. Bobby added a rustic handrail along the fence, fashioning it out of a sturdy, long branch.

Another deer skull and more strappy spheres are displayed in pots.

Zinc pots on a limestone bench contain orange-flowering plants, a bird nest, and other small treasures. Wings are a theme here, with the bird nest, angel wings, and a feather gathered together. Above the winged angel head, burned into the wood fence, is an inscription.

Thoughts have wings.

Another message is pinned to the feather: “Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” — Theodore Roethke

Inside, Cynthia’s house is a treasure trove of collected objects appealingly displayed with books and upcycled art she makes out of other people’s castoffs. Hearts and animal bones are grouped on bookshelves near the door.

Through the front window I appreciated the view of the garden she and Bobby created.

In each vignette there are things to discover. For example the tiny bird eggs in the nest are hand-lettered to read, Mercy Is Power.

Votives and sacred hearts

A leafy face reclines on one shelf, a piece Cynthia sculpted out of clay.

On the back she etched a question that many of us fear.

A custom metal gate across the porte cochere keeps young grandchildren safely contained in the back yard.

The rear yard serves as a multi-car parking area, which is handy not only for their cars but their renters’. But the asphalt drive also is a wagon-pulling and trike-riding space for the grandkids, who enjoy regular playdates with their grandparents. With the addition of a table, chairs, umbrella, and colorful container, it’s also an impromptu patio. Just beyond, in the shady, graveled side yard…

…the beer garden beckons. Cynthia made it festive with brightly colored chairs and castoff doors she brought home, painted, and attached to the fence. It reminded me of the title sequence for Monsters, Inc., which Cynthia hasn’t seen. (Watch it!)

Moss green, terracotta orange, royal blue, turquoise, and canary yellow appear throughout this space, even in the gazing globes in the chandelier’s basket. For many people, the rear side yard is often just a throwaway, junked up place, but not here! It’s party ready.

Signs from local breweries and distilleries are displayed on the carport wall.

Picture frames painted in Cynthia’s chosen color scheme give presence to small pieces of ceramic art.

Behind the carport, a chicken coop complete with metal rooster houses their Barred Rock hens.

Another hang-out space sits behind the rental unit, which is just up the stairs behind the main house. The rental space is comfortable and charmingly decorated and looks like a great place to stay. If you’d like to take a look, here’s the Airbnb link.

To the right of the stairs, an eye-catching cedar bench, umbrella, and colorful patio pots extend the garden and create another patio spot.

Low-water succulents are smart choices for hot-climate containers.

Here’s a unique container! Cynthia and Bobby drilled a large hole in a stump and planted an agave in it. She told me they sold lots of these when they lived in Abilene. I asked if it would eventually send pups out into the gravel, and she wasn’t sure. Obviously it won’t last forever, but what a fun display for a few years!

Along the driveway, another stump is planted with prickly pear and smaller succulents.

And a rotten log is a happy home for a kalanchoe and other succulents.

Pollinator plants thrive in a cottage garden by the back door.

It’s a cheery back entrance.

‘Blue Elf’ aloe pups, ‘Sticks on Fire’ euphorbia, and other small succulents fill a concrete bowl.

Slipper plant in a blue flower bucket

A deer plaque sprouts twig antlers on the back porch.

A thrifted collection of silver serving vessels turned planters are displayed by the window.

Cynthia’s home is filled with beautiful collections like this. What a treat it was to visit and admire what she and Bobby have created at Via Libre.

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.