PORTRAITS

Robert Bellamy

For years Robert Bellamy’s land-scape designs have graced prestigious homes throughout Dallas, particularly in his old stomping grounds of Highland Park. Like a fine sculpture or painting that reflects the owner’s personality and involves all the senses, a “Bellamy” design signals more than a cursory interest in one’s environment. His own home studio, an eclectic melange of materials, textures, and gardens, stands apart from the multicultural neighborhood surrounding it- “At first, my neighbors didn’t quite know what to think,” the SMU graduate says with a laugh, referring to his expanding compound near Ross and Fitzhugh. “But we really get along very well.”

So well, in fact, that Bellamy is donating his time and talents to rebuild a dilapidated playground next to his house. “I’d see these kids playing basketball in the dark, so initially I thought I’d put up a light for them,” he says. “They thanked me, and it occurred to me that a cool resource was going to waste.” Bellamy is spearheading a neighborhood petition to get funds from the city to start construction, as well as additional fund-raising activities.

Bellamy expects to break ground either this month or next, just in time for summer vacation. “I’m not trying to save the world,” he says, shrugging his broad shoulders. “I just think kids deserve the chance to be kids, and if the city can’t or won’t do something, I will.”