Robert Bellamy’s upcycled Marfa garden
Last week I road-tripped 7 hours west to remote Marfa, a sleepy desert town in far West Texas that’s also, thanks to Donald Judd, an art mecca drawing visitors from all over the world. Quite a few Marfa lovers from Dallas, Houston, and Austin own second homes in the area. More-temporary visitors like myself stay at one of the few hotels or rent an Airbnb for a few magical days.
I’ll post pics from Marfa and other sightseeing soon. But first I want to share a fun garden — of course I visited gardens — by creative upcycler Robert Bellamy, a Dallas-based designer who owns a small second home in Marfa, which he rents out as an Airbnb called Marfa Hill House. A rusty BBQ smoker, planted up with prickly pear, greeted me.
An old propane tank turned into a zinnia planter and a drilled-out stump holding an agave added to the fun repurposing.
One corner of Robert’s guest casita bristles with spherical yuccas.
All that green looks so pretty against terracotta brick.
Another look at the stump planter. The undulating row of trees and shrubs in the background screens Robert’s garden from the highway.
The guest casita — rented out separately as The Canteen — is charming with glass-paned metal barn doors that slide across various openings.
The structure makes a handy party house when Robert entertains.
The gravel patio is enclosed by a low, curved wall.
At one end, a built-in banco shaded by a ramada offers seating at a metal dining table.
A corrugated shed is tucked off to the side.
You step up into the main garden, where a lawn backs up to a surprisingly steep hill. Marfa isn’t particularly hilly, so Robert’s 100-year-old adobe house sits atop one of the highest points in town, with great views from the front porch.
For a desert garden, it’s unusually lush, but most of the plants are dry loving, like sunflowers, salvias, desert willow, and Mexican feathergrass.
Phlox was a surprise, but Robert says it thrives here, never getting powdery mildew like it can in Austin. It smelled great too.
Along the stair landings, Robert created a tribute to the mysterious Marfa lights: pyramids of stacked, turquoise slag glass that glow when lights in the concrete pillars are turned on. I’d love to see it lit up at night!
Here’s a view from above, along with The Canteen at the bottom of the hill.
Javelinas have been invading the garden at night to nosh on Robert’s prickly pears. He’s strung up barriers, but the javelinas keep finding a way, even along the steep rock wall below the house.
I love this vignette of a curvy planter embedded in the rock wall, with prickly pear cascading over the top and the porch ramada above that.
The high view
At the very top of the property behind the house, a graceful mesquite tree leans toward a simple folding chair and stump table.
A balcony-like patio runs along the old adobe house…
…to a sheltered porch, where shadows play against the sandy walls. I didn’t take pictures indoors, but it’s cozy and charming. You can see pics on the Airbnb listing, along with more images of the garden.
Heading back down to the car, I noticed another stump planter displaying a yellowing agave with a tall flower spike. Most agaves die after flowering, and it’s all part of the process. This one is going out with a bang.
In the lower garden, Pride of Barbados catches the light with its ferny leaves.
So does gossamer Mexican feathergrass, which encloses a secret patio with a stump seat and stone table adorned with a piece of turquoise glass. The landmark Marfa water tower can be seen in the distance.
Thanks for sharing your delightful garden with me, Robert!
Up next: Sightseeing, landscaping, and Wes Anderson-style architecture in Marfa.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Hi, what a fun trip. It’s so interesting to see Marfa. So I have to ask, did you see any …. Marfa lights?
Alas, I didn’t make it to the viewing spot for the Marfa lights. Nor Prada Marfa. Nor Chinati! So much to see. Next time! 🙂
What I really love about many of these Texas gardens you share is the absolute sense of place. These gardeners never fail to show us the best that Texas has to offer and display a rich culture that endures regardless of the challenging climate and the sometimes negative view of the state that the media presents us with . It would be nice to throw all the political crap in the dumpster and just immerse ourselves in the real Texas.
I’m glad the gardens I show across Texas give you a different view of life here than the narrow picture presented in any news source, KS. I find the enjoyment of gardens and gardening usually transcends politics. As our native daughter Lady Bird Johnson said, “The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” And yes, a distinct sense of place is something to cultivate and cherish.
Thanks for sharing this inspiring desert garden! Might be where we are headed here in Austin,so I’m taking notes! It’s lovely!!
It’s funny, but it was a lot cooler out there than here, about 10 degrees less. And with the low humidity it was very comfortable in the shade. They do get much less rainfall than we do, although they have a deep aquifer that they rely on. This was one of the lusher gardens I saw, as Robert was the first to note. A more xeric and minimalist aesthetic is popular in Marfa. It was all interesting to me!
Pam, In picture “18, the high view”, what is that tree with the red blooms on it.
I believe that’s a maroon-flowering desert willow, and the color is a little wonky in that photo.
A dozen and a half years ago I saw Robert’s mosaic works in a magazine article and I SO wanted to be brave and talented enough to build/create what he did. I am still tempted to try some of his ideas…like the planter attached to the wall. Thanks for reintroducing me to his work. gail
I know you have that creativity too, Gail. Go for it!
Oh, I like this very much! We have friends in Marfa, ex-Portlanders. Perhaps I’ll save this as a dreamy someday destination.
Ah, lucky you to have a reason to visit, and with insiders!
So strange to see a hill in Maria! I like all of this (though the green is also kinda strange to see there). And there you go with those stump planters with agaves!
Lots to appreciate here.
Glad you visited, I’ve heard about his house for years, but only that a landscape designer owns it. (and yes, I bookmarked the Canteen for future reference) He did a great job with eclectic design and use of glass, plus the plantings. All my times in Marfa and driving past the entrance, I never noticed it. The casita’s brick resembles the D’Hanis brick used at the pool building for the Hotel Saint George, in midtown Marfa…
It was a treat to see what Robert has created in Marfa. Reading your comment about the Hotel Saint George, I now wish I’d stepped inside to take a look around. Marfa may be a small town, but there’s plenty to see.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy a stay at The Canteen. One thing to know, as Robert states on his listing, is that the only shower for that rental is outdoors. For serious nature lovers only! 😉
Thanks for including the B&B link – it was nice to see the interior, too.
Wonderful place, I hope to get out there next year!
Yes, the interior of the Hill House is especially fun to see.
This place looks so peaceful, well designed inside and out.
When I saw the photo of Pride of Barbado, I thought wait, what? It looks like a Royal poinciana… A quick internet search revealed it’s a distant dwarf relative of the Royal, one of my all time favorite trees.
Oh, interesting! Pride of Barbados is hugely popular here in Austin too. A heat lover and drought doesn’t faze it.