I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature. I'm not
talking raised beds. These that I see don't have wood or stone retaininers
around them. They are little hills that just sort of rise up off the
surface of the lawn, and they're covered with bark mulch and then planted
with various decorative grasses or daffodils or azaleas or whatever. In
size they're usually free formed shapes maybe roughly 8 feet long by 3 or 4
feet wide and a couple of feet high.

The question is, how are they made? I'm sure there has to more to it than
just dumping wheelbarrows full of dirt on the lawn in a big pile. It would
seem to me that if that's all I did, the piles would slump and settle
pretty quickly, especially after a good rain. But I'd really like to make
a couple of these on my own lawn. Does anyone know how these are made so
that they last?

TIA...

In article ,
Alan Holbrook wrote:

I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature.

Are you talking about mound septic systems?

-john-

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John A. Weeks III * * * * * 612-720-2854 * * * * *
Newave Communications * * * * * * * * * * * * http://www.johnweeks.com
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John A. Weeks III wrote:
In article ,
Alan Holbrook wrote:

I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature.

Are you talking about mound septic systems?

-john-

And we have a winner! If you live in an area with the wrong soil,
sometimes a big lump in the yard, is the only way to get a septic system
to work. Trying to make it look like it belongs there can be like
putting lipstick on a pig, but you do what you can.

Only other time I see people building berms on a residential lot, is if
one side faces a busy road, and they are trying to dampen noise or get
some privacy. Where a commercial strip butts up to an existing
subdivision, sometimes putting in a berm/buffer zone, and covering it
with evergreens, is a condition of getting the permit. Around here, lots
of people live on what were quiet rural 2-laners, but are now 4-lane
thoroughfares. They lost 20 feet of their front yards, and a big chunk
of their resale value. I feel sorry for them, but that is one reason I
crossed houses on through roads off my shopping list.

--
aem sends...

"aemeijers" wrote in message
news
John A. Weeks III wrote:
In article ,
Alan Holbrook wrote:

I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature.

Are you talking about mound septic systems?

-john-

And we have a winner! If you live in an area with the wrong soil, sometimes a
big lump in the yard, is the only way to get a septic system to work. Trying
to make it look like it belongs there can be like putting lipstick on a pig,
but you do what you can.

I see plenty of the these hills added to city lots in Seattle, where no septic
systems exist.

Alan Holbrook writes:

I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature. I'm not
talking raised beds. These that I see don't have wood or stone retaininers
around them. They are little hills that just sort of rise up off the
surface of the lawn, and they're covered with bark mulch and then planted
with various decorative grasses or daffodils or azaleas or whatever. In
size they're usually free formed shapes maybe roughly 8 feet long by 3 or 4
feet wide and a couple of feet high.

The question is, how are they made? I'm sure there has to more to it than
just dumping wheelbarrows full of dirt on the lawn in a big pile. It would
seem to me that if that's all I did, the piles would slump and settle
pretty quickly, especially after a good rain. But I'd really like to make
a couple of these on my own lawn. Does anyone know how these are made so
that they last?

They're called "berms". You might find some how-to advice with Google.
I imagine the plantings help to stabilize the soil.

This may seem obvious, but don't place them where they interfere with
run-off and drainage in your yard.

-Sandra

"Alan Holbrook" wrote in message
.121...
I've seen some number of homes in my area (Northeastern Massachusetts) with
rased mounds with plantings on them as a landscaping feature. I'm not
talking raised beds. These that I see don't have wood or stone retaininers
around them. They are little hills that just sort of rise up off the
surface of the lawn, and they're covered with bark mulch and then planted
with various decorative grasses or daffodils or azaleas or whatever. In
size they're usually free formed shapes maybe roughly 8 feet long by 3 or 4
feet wide and a couple of feet high.

The question is, how are they made? I'm sure there has to more to it than
just dumping wheelbarrows full of dirt on the lawn in a big pile. It would
seem to me that if that's all I did, the piles would slump and settle
pretty quickly, especially after a good rain. But I'd really like to make
a couple of these on my own lawn. Does anyone know how these are made so
that they last?

TIA...

A few large rocks around the outside would certainly help, but mildly compacted
dirt will work fine, unless you are subject to multi inch rain dumps in the
first few months.