MomE@Home, I've only been able to find the following info on building berms, and just a couple of pics. It might be a good idea to check out a bookstore, gardening section, and see if you can find some berm building guides there. If I can find more info, I'll post it!
~To Create Berms:
* Use berms, which are simply mounds of dirt, to add visual interest to the area.
* Pile dirt in graceful shapes about the size of a child's wagon, mounded 12 to 24 inches with wavy, irregular edges that imitate nature.
* Compact the berms so they won't collapse during the first rain by jumping up and down on the soil or firmly tamping it.
* Instead of purchasing new soil for berms, use the soil from the dug out holes to plant trees and plants in the Japanese-garden area.~
" Finally, we'll need a small berm. Privacy berms are long mounds of soil that buffer street noise and help screen out unwanted views. They may be almost any size, though a huge berm can look a bit odd on a small, flat lot.
To find the right size for your setting, consider what will be most practical and serviceable as well as what will look most attractive (or least peculiar). If you will be building your berm with a shovel and a wheel barrow, a smaller one will certainly be more attractive.
Here we'll make a low mound (just over 2 feet high) along the length of the driveway. It will rise slightly above the rest of the bed (already 18 inches deep), and will be planted with low hedging shrubs that will filter traffic dust and block the view of the road."
A couple of pics
Did you figure out how to post pictures? Do you have a website to host them?
