How To Design A Berm Garden

If your berm looks too artificial consider adding some large rocks to vary the surface.

How to design a berm garden. Place shrubs or small trees in the center of the berm where they will have the deepest amount of root space. The base of your berm doesn t have to have quality soil. If it looks too uniform scatter medium sized plants randomly throughout the berm.

A lot of people use clay or fill dirt on the bottom of their berms and then add the more nutrient rich soil on top to feed their plants. A berm looks most natural when it follows a curve or sinuous shape blending into other curves in the landscape. Put the smallest plants at the base of the berm.

So that base level is where you can stick your landscaping rejects to start building up your berm. Beneath the larger plants place an assortment of perennial flowers or succulents. Berms designed to include very large shrubs or small flowering trees should be 6 to 8 inches in height allowing the deeper rooted plants to establish securely.

Minimize the depth of the fill where it s closest to the edge but gradually increase its depth as you work toward the middle. Apply the layer of clayey soil.