Berms add
beauty to your garden
By Satish
Narula
NOT many people seem to realise
that the boundaries of their gardens extend well beyond
their houses. As such they do not pay attention to the
proper maintenance of berms.
Since a berm is in the open, anything that
is planted there can be damaged by pedestrians, vehicles
or cattle. Hence it is important to choose the right
plant species to plant in a berm. Keep the following
guidelines in mind while planting in a berm. Leave a
margin of at least three feet from the road for use by
pedestrians. Do not go in for expensive materials or
plants or fixed structures. Check if there is any
electrical or telephone wire running below the area to be
made into a berm. This is more important in case you plan
to plant trees or shrubs. These may have to be uprooted
in case of any electrical repair work. It is a better
idea to have lawn grass or seasonal plants.
Berms need careful
handling. A gentle slope towards the road ensures proper
drainage. However, this is not a must. You can also give
it the shape of waves. A few small and closely clipped
shrubs planted on each cliff of a wave will look nice.
Hardy bulbs like hippeastrun (the garden amaryllis) can
also be grown.
Prickly
borders can also be used. Euphorbia is one of the best
choices. Called the crown of thorns it has sharp prickles
and blood red flowers almost throughout the year.
Planting rose cuttings is pointless as these grow wild,
look ugly and also carry some diseases and insects that
can harm other plants or even hedges. Murraya hedge is
prone to powdery mildew is a common fungus growing on
wild rose plants.
It is not always
necessary to use plants for decorating berms. This can
also be done with marble chips or white river stone. You
can use your imagination to make beautiful patterns. If
there is a tree already growing on the land it can also
be integrated into the design.
The advantage of using
marble chips is that these can be removed if any
underground repair work is to be carried out. Plant
species that can be used for berms are duranta (various
species), acalypha (dwarf and ornamental), snowbush,
iresin, sedums chlorophytum, various alternanthras,
kofia, lantana (yellow and blue) etc.
This
feature was published on August 15, 1999
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