Need idea for "berm"

[smithyardfarm]

Good morning everyone! I have an idea for my next pond and I wanted to get your input for around the edge. I want to have about a six inch Valley (I guess you could call it) filled with small river rock for marginal plants. I want to have a berm in between the pond and the edge. I'm wondering if anybody has a pond like this? and what you have used for that berm in the middle .attached is a picture that I drew to help explain.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Good morning everyone! I have an idea for my next pond and I wanted to get your input for around the edge. I want to have about a six inch Valley (I guess you could call it) filled with small river rock for marginal plants. I want to have a berm in between the pond and the edge. I'm wondering if anybody has a pond like this? and what you have used for that berm in the middle .attached is a picture that I drew to help explain.View attachment 86155

Not called a berm. A berm is a raised area. As far as your idea, it looks good as is. Have used this method for constructing perimeter aquatic planting areas for years.

 

[addy1]

Just leave the dirt, dig behind it. Hides the liner nicely.

 

[Mmathis]

I think what you have designed there is a version of a bog. @addy1 is our "bog expert," so let's see what she says -- she may recommend you use pea gravel instead of river stone, though. And she might advise against having the raised area [what you're calling a berm] and just dry-stack bricks or rock. She has a "sticky" I think in the DIY section about bog-building and has a diagram of a bog that encircles a pond. Not that you intended to make a bog, but......

As @Meyer Jordan said, the berm would be if you raised the area where you have the flagstone. The berm would be to keep yard run-off water from getting into the pond.

So, it comes down to semantics. Whether you/we call it a berm or not, basically, again, you have a good design idea [see first paragraph.....].

 

[addy1]

recommend you use pea gravel instead of river stone, though. And she might advise against having the raised area [what you're calling a berm] and just dry-stack bricks or rock

Nope what is designed will work just fine. The river stone, would look neat, different sizes to hold the plants in place. The raised area will work fine to hold the rocks and plants in place. I did something to a smaller scale along some of my pond edge, wish I did it a few other places also.

 

[Mmathis]

Nope what is designed will work just fine. The river stone, would look neat, different sizes to hold the plants in place. The raised area will work fine to hold the rocks and plants in place. I did something to a smaller scale along some of my pond edge, wish I did it a few other places also.

All right! Good to know.....!

 

[smithyardfarm]

Not called a berm. A berm is a raised area. As far as your idea, it looks good as is. Have used this method for constructing perimeter aquatic planting areas for years.

A berm is a raised shelf or barrier separating two areas.... that's what I am trying to do... plus I was quoting it because I was unsure what else to call it

 

[smithyardfarm]

I am concerned that using just dirt will cause it to flatten.

 

[Lisak1]

I guess it would depend on the type of soil you are digging in. Our heavy clay soil is like sculpting in cement - any shape we dig will stay that way. If your soil is sandy or loamy you may have more trouble.

However, you can create planting areas without the dramatic berm - any shelf you dig can hold rock to plant marginals, either gravel (my preference) or larger river rock if you prefer. I don't think you need the gravel as deep as it appears you are planning, but it would work in any case. Just dig a wider than usual shelf and use the larger rocks set in toward the pond as the structural component to create the "wall" to contain the gravel.

 

[addy1]

I am concerned that using just dirt will cause it to flatten.

I just used dirt, our dirt is clay with a lot of shale. My bog wall is a 7 plus foot high dirt berm I built (we are on a slope) to make the pond area level.
It never flattened. Unless you are sand like lisak says, your berm should hold up without issues.

 

[smithyardfarm]

Thank you. And it's just a rough sketch. My small pond now doesn't have enough room for plants in between the rocks and edge. (Not enough for me anyway, I do have some stuffed in there) I was hoping to alliviatte that.

 

[sissy]

I actually like your idea if your pond water gets into the river stone, plants would love it and so would other critters .It would be a great place for them to get a drink .Butterflies,bees ,birds,lizards and frogs would love it .Only thing I would worry about is things being washed into the pond from above in really heavy rains

 

[tbendl]

Great idea, please update the thread with pictures if you decide to build this way.