"Gal, tell me how many times you've seen a berm constructed and landscaped to the criteria you outlined above?"
Every time I design one :-) Seriously, if done properly - rather than just an amateur homeowner 'dump a load of topsoil in a mound and call it a berm' methodology - then they can be striking landscape accents. But designing a "good" berm is a bit like designing anything....it helps to know what you are doing before you begin.
Berms won't look good nor function properly if they are too uniform in shape or height or not correctly sized for the location. And you want to avoid making them too high - there is a formula for calculating the maximum height per square footage covered and it has a lot to do with the soil's natural angle of repose. If done correctly, there should not be any "major slope", just a gradual incline to the apex (ALWAYS located off-center) so that erosion or slippage of soil is a non-issue. And never plant directly at the apex or peak of the berm, but just slightly off the top or down slope.
And I'm not at all sure I would agree that a raised bed is a more natural construct than a berm - a well designed and constructed berm IS a raised bed, just a far more naturally conceived and technically thought out one :-)
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planting shapes, bench on gravel
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