Create additional interest in your landscaping by adding berms.

Berms are elongated mounds of top soil that create raised planting areas. Berms are great to use for privacy screening.

One example of this is to have a three-foot high berm planted with screening plants such as Leyland Cypress, Cryptomeria, Green Grand Arborvitae or Nellie Stevens Holly, to name a few.

In front of the screening plants you can add smaller plants to add interest and to take away from the wall effect that single row plantings can create. Some good choices for this include Lorapetalum, Knockout Rose, Needle Point Holly, Howardi Ligustrum, Cleyera, Forsythia, Abelia, Laurels, Gardenia or Anise. By adding these types of plants you will soften the fence effect of the screening plants.

Another area to add a berm is at an entryway, such as where the driveway joins the street. These berms can be lower and will bring attention to the entrance. You can plant accent trees such as Japanese Maples, Crape Myrtle, Red Bud, Dogwood, Flowering Cherry or tree-form Hollies, on top of the berm. Then plant lower plants below them such as Lorapetalum, Knockout Rose, Carissa Holly, or Spiraea, with perennials, day lilies and seasonal color. If you want to keep the berm plantings low, use Lorapetalum or Knockout Roses as the accent plants and use ground cover, low growing hollies, day lilies, low growing Nandina and seasonal color. Another area to use berms would be near the corner of the house. They help the plant material frame the house more effectively, especially if the house is tall. It is best to keep the berm away from the foundation to prevent creating a drainage problem.

Try using berms in your landscaping. You will pleased with how it can enhance the appearance of your property.