Landscaping and Trees in Bellaire

Trees are part of how Bellaire was planned. When developer W. W. Baldwin was laying out the town around 1908, he hired horticulturist Edward Teas, Sr. to design plantings for Bellaire Boulevard and the streets beside it, according to the Texas Historical Commission marker for Teas Nursery Company. By 1951 the company had planted more than a million trees around Houston. A homeowner who is deciding what to do with a pecan or a live oak is working inside that history.

Where the nursery stood

The Teas Nursery sat at what is now 4400 Bellaire Blvd, the address of Evelyn's Park. Evelyn's Park is a conservancy-run park of about five acres on the site of the former nursery. The marker says Teas opened the Bellaire nursery in 1910 and ran it until his death in 1951, growing fruit trees, flowering shrubs and plants before adding landscaping services. It is a pleasant place to stand while you decide what belongs in your own yard.

What the tree ordinance says

Bellaire amended its tree ordinance in Ordinance 24-025, which took effect on May 6, 2024. The ordinance defines a large tree as one six inches or more across, and a significant tree as one 12 inches or more. Protected trees include every significant tree in the city, large trees in front yards, street side yards and rights of way, and all large trees on a site with an active development permit. Trees the ordinance classes as low value are excluded from the front yard category.

A tree permit is required to remove or damage any protected tree. If a protected tree becomes dangerous, an owner may remove it at once, provided the owner applies for a permit within ten days and documents the emergency. Removal is presumed to involve a large tree when the stump measures six inches across or more.

The ordinance also sets replacement and protection rules, and the City Code says a tree permit that authorizes removing or damaging a protected tree requires replacement trees. Replacement can be planted on the site, planted off the site within 1,000 feet, or paid for through the Bellaire Forestry Enhancement Fund, which buys trees for public spaces and front yards. The ordinance's example deposit is $3,500 for ten replacement inches. During construction, a fence six feet or higher must surround each protected tree. The ordinance also provides that no mitigation fee is due for a tree under ten inches across at an existing one- or two-family home that is the owner's residence.

Ask who files the tree permit before any saw comes out of the truck.

The city's Development Services page says Code Compliance oversees the tree ordinance. The ordinance also calls for a review after its first year, so confirm the current wording with the city before you plan a removal.

Finding a tree service

Our directory does not list a tree service or a retail nursery in Bellaire, and we would rather say so than pad the list. The International Society of Arboriculture runs a public search at treesaregood.org for certified arborists. The page says certification shows a person meets minimum knowledge and skill requirements and that credential holders follow a code of ethics. It also notes that listing is voluntary, so a certified arborist may not appear.

Ask who files the tree permit before any saw comes out of the truck.

Lawn, garden and landscape businesses

These are listings, and nothing here is a ranking. Heroes Lawn Care of Bellaire, at 6575 W Loop S, lists lawn mowing, fertilization, weed control, aeration, sod, irrigation, drip irrigation, sprinkler maintenance, landscape design and hardscape construction on its Bellaire page.

Thompson + Hanson Landscape Architecture, at 1301 N 1st St, describes itself as a full-service landscape firm that offers design, installation and maintenance of residential gardens. Its service list includes irrigation, drainage, planting and lighting design. Its website does not name Bellaire among the neighborhoods it lists.

Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, at 5106 Elm St, is an irrigation and landscape supply business whose website is aimed at landscape contractors, so most homeowners will meet it through their landscaper. Urban Organic Gardens, at 1105 Howard Ln, is an organic gardening business whose website offers a year-round gardening guide.

One rule matters to anyone who regrades a yard. The city's Development Services letter to residents says to check with the department before you build, alter, regrade or place fill on your property. It also says not to dump anything into ditches or storm water inlets.

Limbs, brush and yard waste

The City of Bellaire handles trash and yard waste itself through Public Works, and limbs and brush are collected one day a week by service area. Area D is Monday, E is Tuesday, B is Wednesday, C is Thursday and A is Friday. Which area you live in depends on the city's service-area map, and the boundaries follow Bellaire Boulevard, South Rice Avenue and IH 610. Heavy trash is usually handled by appointment with Public Works. Set garbage out by 7 a.m. on collection day and not before 6 p.m. the day before. If you cut limbs yourself, limbs three inches across or smaller go out in four-foot lengths tied in bundles no more than two feet across, with a limit of three bundles per collection day. Limbs larger than three inches can be no more than eight inches across and four feet long, with a 200-pound limit per day. Stack everything where nothing hangs over it, because the city asks for 30 feet of clear space above the pile.

A park that teaches

Russ Pitman Park, at 7112 Newcastle St, shows what native planting looks like. Its page on the Nature Discovery Center's website describes a pocket prairie, a prairie wetland planted with native grasses whose deep roots absorb water, a pecan grove and deciduous woodland of East Texas species. For anyone thinking about a yard that drinks up rain, it is worth a walk.

Before you go

- Measure the trunk before you plan any removal, because six inches across makes a tree large and twelve makes it significant. - Ask your tree service who will file the city tree permit and when the permit is expected. - Check with Development Services before you regrade, add fill or change how water leaves your lot. - Look up your service area on the city's collection schedule before you stack limbs at the curb, and cut owner-cut limbs to four-foot lengths. - Expect to plant or pay for replacement trees when a permit allows you to remove or damage a protected tree. - Confirm the current tree ordinance with the city, since the May 2024 text called for a review.

Sources

- City of Bellaire, Ordinance 24-025 (tree protection): https://mcclibraryfunctions.azurewebsites.us/api/ordinanceDownload/13798/1292677/pdf - City of Bellaire, Development Services: https://www.bellairetx.gov/621/Development-Services - City of Bellaire, Development Services letter to residents: https://www.bellairetx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34476 - City of Bellaire, City Code Sec. 9-351, tree permit: https://library.municode.com/tx/bellaire/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH9BU_ARTXITR_S9-351TRPE - City of Bellaire, Solid Waste Collection Tips: https://www.bellairetx.gov/883/Solid-Waste-Collection-Tips - City of Bellaire, Solid Waste and Recycling Collection Schedule: https://www.bellairetx.gov/swschedule - Texas Historical Commission, Teas Nursery Company marker: https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5201010788 - Evelyn's Park: https://evelynspark.org - International Society of Arboriculture, Find an Arborist: https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist - Heroes Lawn Care of Bellaire: https://heroeslawncare.com/bellaire-tx - Thompson + Hanson Landscape Architecture: https://thompsonhanson.com/landscape-architecture - Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply: https://www.ewingirrigation.com - Urban Organic Gardens: https://urbanorganicsonline.com - Russ Pitman Park, Nature Discovery Center: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/russ-pitman-park

En español

Bellaire protege sus árboles con una ordenanza que entró en vigor el 6 de mayo de 2024. Se exige un permiso de árbol para cortar o dañar cualquier árbol protegido, es decir, todo árbol de 12 pulgadas o más de diámetro y los árboles de 6 pulgadas o más en el jardín delantero, en el costado de la calle o en la vía pública. Si un árbol se vuelve peligroso, se puede retirar de inmediato y solicitar el permiso en diez días. Pregunte siempre a quien haga el trabajo quién tramitará el permiso. La ciudad recoge ramas y maleza un día por semana según la zona, y los objetos grandes se recogen con cita; las ramas cortadas por usted van en tramos de cuatro pies. La guía enumera negocios de jardinería y paisajismo, sin clasificarlos.