By Ellen Barcel

Do you have a problem spot in the garden or a garden that you feel is vulnerable, for example, to cars along a road way? You may want to consider building and planting a berm. Berms are described as an artificial ridge or embankment, used for defense or as a barrier — basically it’s a little hill. It’s also a way of providing privacy, redirecting foot traffic, creating a noise barrier, directing and controlling rainwater, blocking an unattractive view, creating a focal point or as wind protection. You can probably think of other uses, including creating interest in a flat landscape or as the center in a circular driveway.

To create the berm, make a plan on paper first. Generally, the berm should be four to five times as long as it is high. In general, berms are one to two feet high, but that is really up to you. They could be higher, even five or six feet.  The bigger the berm, the more fill you will need to create it. If you are using a contractor (strongly recommended if it’s a big job), the firm can provide the fill. If you are doing the work yourself, then make sure you don’t use fill that will add chemicals to the soil/groundwater. Also, don’t use wood as it will decompose and the berm (or at least part of it) will sink down into the surrounding  ground.

Once you or your landscape contractor have created the berm, you need to plant it. What plants you select really depends on why you created the berm in the first place. For example, if you did it as a noise barrier or to block an unsightly view, then you probably want evergreens since they will protect year round while deciduous trees or shrubs would not in winter. If it’s for privacy in an area that you only use in summer, then you could use deciduous plantings.

Another considerations is where the berm is located. If it’s in a very shady location, then you need to plant shade-tolerant plants. You could use rhododendrons (some reach a height of 10 or more feet tall), hostas and ferns. If it’s to create a focal point in a sunny location, you could use perennial flowers such as coneflowers, black eyed Susans, mums, etc.  Berms also work well as a place to install a rock garden.

Depending on the use, you might want a variety of plantings to supply year-round interest — rhodies in the spring, coneflowers in the summer, mums and ornamental grasses in the fall. Grasses are also lovely in winter with snow and ice on them. Red twig dogwood adds color to the winter garden. Don’t forget the mulch for spaces between plantings.

Berms can create a microclimate. If it blocks the sun, then one side could be cooler than the other. Or, if it blocks the wind, it might allow more tender plants to survive well on the protected side. Follow general landscaping principles, for example, put taller plants in back (or for a very large berm in the center) and shorter plants near the edges. Two plants create a more formal appearance while three (or five) create a more casual look.

When planning out your berm, you might want to add some small statuary, a birdbath, a bird feeder or in a sunny location, a sundial. Plan how you will access the center of the berm — for example,  several stepping stones. You also need to decide how you will edge the berm. You could just put some simple edging in where the berm meets the grass. Or you could put in a number of decorative stones. If the berm is very high, four or five feet tall or more, you may want to terrace it.

Autumn/winter is the ideal time to plan out what you want to do and how to do it. Research the plants that will be installed. Then come the first mild days in early spring, you can get started.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

By Ellen Barcel

It’s only the middle of September and yet I see leaves beginning to turn colors — yes, already. Now is the time to start thinking about your annual autumn gardening chores.

1. This time of year, with its cool weather is ideal for transplanting and/or dividing herbaceous perennials. They will easily have two or three months to settle in and grow even more roots before a hard freeze.

2. This is also a great time to assess your garden, its successes and its failures. Yes, we all have them — plants that didn’t do as well as we had hoped. So, look at your plants. What do you want to move? What do you want to take out? What do you want to replace?

3. Autumn is a great time to put in new plantings. Roots continue to grow underground well into December or until there is a hard freeze. Because autumn is usually cooler, you won’t spend as much time watering in the new plantings. There’s a saying that it takes three years for a new or transplanted plant to really succeed: The first year it gets used to its new home, the second year it grows roots and really settles in and the third year it thrives. If you plant this autumn, you’ve got a jump start on the process.

4. Autumn is also a good time to have any large trees on your property checked out by an arborist if you haven’t done so already. Hopefully we won’t be in the path of any hurricanes as we have in the last few years. But, even smaller storms, like the one that hit the North Shore in early August, can damage weakened or dead tree branches. And no, topping trees to keep them smaller is not recommended as it weakens the tree in general.

5. Don’t cut back hardy ornamental grasses if you can avoid it. They look beautiful all winter, especially if covered with snow or ice. If they do need to be cut back, do it in spring when they’ll be ready to start growing again.

6. Don’t prune early spring flowering plants like forsythia in the fall. You’ll be cutting off next spring’s flowers.

7. Leaving spent flower heads on your plants provides seeds for birds as the weather gets colder. If you really don’t like the way they look, go out during a mild late autumn or winter day and cut them back when the seeds are all eaten or have fallen to the ground. This is especially important for plants that reseed themselves if you want them to regrow next year.

8. If you have a holly bush that needs to be pruned, wait until December. Then you can use the prunings as holiday decorations.

9.  Stop adding to your compost pile once it gets really cold. What you add will no longer decompose, especially if its freezing or below and could attract unwanted animals. Turn the pile over one last time.

10. If it’s a very dry autumn, make sure to water your shrubs to help them through the winter.

11. If you have plants that are borderline in the hardiness area, say hardy to zones 7 and above (Long Island is zone 7), mulch them well to help them through the winter.

12. Lift any tender bulbs or corms and store them in a cool dry place to overwinter, replanting them in spring. Take cuttings of coleus and root them in water over winter. Bring in pots of herbs to grow on a sunny window sill.

13. Move any tender container plants (like fig trees) into a cool dry place (like an unheated garage) to overwinter. Remember to water them periodically, say once a month, since they would receive moisture from rain or snow if they were outside. If you can’t move fig trees, then they need to be wrapped up.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.