ARGYLE, Texas — Driving through the entrance to Harvest by Hillwood in Argyle, one gets an overwhelming feeling of wandering back in time.

The 1,200-acre master-planned community is nothing short of idyllic. Like “Leave It To Beaver” mixed with a touch of “Pleasantville.”

The community features rows of charming single-family model homes with perfectly manicured lawns and a sparkling 11-acre lake filled with catfish and bass just begging to be caught. The streets, which are neatly lined with large trees, are immaculate.

Trash is nonexistent.

A sign points drivers in the direction of The Hall, Harvest’s main venue for community-wide events like potlucks and birthday parties. Unfortunately, there is no party on the agenda for today. Instead, I’m meeting Ross DeOtte, Harvest’s 27-year-old on-site farmer.

After winding through the community, I finally reach my destination, a beautiful, two-story yellow farmhouse with a wraparound porch. Built in 1876 by John Wesley Faught, Faught House was once home to five generations of the family. The house was moved from its original location (about 100 yards), renovated and turned into a coffee house where residents can gather and converse.

Inside, DeOtte and Angie Mastrocola, senior vice president of Hillwood Communities, are waiting. Conversation immediately plunges into the history of the community and what DeOtte’s role is within it.

“He has a personality and a gift of dealing with people,” Mastrocola says. “On a side note, he knows how to grow stuff.”

DeOtte, who is referred to affectionately as “Farmer Ross” by residents, has been at Harvest since March and is responsible for maintaining the community’s 6-acre farm, which includes a demonstration garden, community garden and greenhouse.

How did DeOtte end up nabbing the coveted job?

It was a cold call.

DeOtte recounts how one day he drove by Harvest and was intrigued. Not knowing if the community had a farm or not, he decided to try his luck and placed a call to see if Harvest needed help. As luck would have it, it did.

But the job didn’t come easy. Mastrocola was determined to find the perfect person for the position and, as she says, she had a lot of questions. Could he do it full time? What was his experience? What was his passion? And most importantly, how would he interact with residents?

“My interest in having a farm out here as a developer was to make sure he connected with the residents, because it’s all about community,” Mastrocola says. “And it’s about educational opportunities and bringing folks together.”

To make sure DeOtte was up to the task, Mastrocola brought in a consultant to interview him, followed by a second consultant and then another. The process was lengthy and took several weeks to complete.

“It was like five different interviews,” DeOtte says.

With every interview, DeOtte impressed more and more, thanks to his personable demeanor and his extensive knowledge of gardening. After the final interview, Mastrocola says the consultant told her to stop her search.

“He walked right in and said, ‘You hire him right now,’” Mastrocola says. “So I said OK.”

While DeOtte doesn’t live at Harvest full time, you would never know it given how much time he spends there. He works five or six days a week, commuting from the ashram he lives on in Denton. Most work days start between 7 and 8 a.m., and no two days are the same.

When he’s not putting down pre-emergent herbicides in the greenhouse or removing weeds from the demonstration garden, DeOtte leads workshops and classes for residents, including children, who want to learn more about gardening.

While DeOtte says it can be challenging just trying to hold the attention of the “sprouts,” he has nothing but praise for his junior gardeners, whom he describes as whip-smart.

“Their absorbency is awesome,” DeOtte says.

DeOtte does have office hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“Nobody ever comes to that though because I’m always available,” DeOtte says.

And when he says he’s always available, he means it. DeOtte regularly receives calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages from residents who have gardening questions (sometimes even on his days off). While some might find the constant bombardment annoying, Farmer Ross welcomes the opportunity to connect with residents.

“A big piece of this is the community. Which is what I like about it,” he says. “My mission and their mission is we both want to have a successful farm.”