Liz lots of progress ..this season's blooms will highlite all your hard work.
So much fun to watch all your progress .

Thank you Liz for the update,it's going to look beautiful,and looking forward for the next many many years. whenI am in Aus this is where I will get my fill from all of your gardens in all of the USA,Canada and all over,Thank again Happy Blooms to all.

Yes, thanks for the update, Liz! It looks awesome! I can't wait to see the beds in bloom in the months and years to come. All your hard work in preparing the beds with the right soil, amendments, and drainage will surely reward you with healthy and happy plants. Would love to see a pic of your finished cottage.

Thank you Liz for the update,it's going to look beautiful,and looking forward for the next many many years. whenI am in Aus this is where I will get my fill from all of your gardens in all of the USA,Canada and all over,Thank again Happy Blooms to all.

Liz hard work and love are ever present in your photos. Congrats on your progress and colored bud....a sign of things to come.

Liz, amazing work and good progress! Looking forward to seeing your booms!

Liz, I admire your dedication and stamina Cannot wait to see all you blooms cascading over those terraces and gabions

Liz, I thought I was a 'heavy lifter' in the gardening area, but you really put me to shame. I am so in awe of that wall you built. Giving me ideas. lol

Thanks everyone! I'll add a few pics of the cottage in the next update, Karen!

Jeff had to do a quick trip out to AL for a vehicle registration issue so I tagged along, did a bit more work on the retaining wall. Still have to put the last box in place on this row and backfill up against that box then I can start on the first row…
Here are the completed 6 boxes, first I've put in by myself!

The slightly darker soil is the 8 yards or so that I added after finishing the 6 boxes!

Saw that I missed at least 3 tree peony blooms, they probably got blasted by the crazy cold AL had just after I left last time. Saw a lot more buds but still have a lot of herbaceous that haven't come up at all yet that we're planted last fall. All were from growers in much colder zones, hopefully it's just an adjustment to the new, warmer winters and they'll figure it out soon.

Wonderful job, Liz! Hopefully you will get to see some blooms on your next visit!

Wow, what an amazing transformation! It's such a beautiful piece of land and it is going to look even more beautiful when the plants grow and bloom.

Liz, the transformation is unbelievable. I hope you enjoy your gardens for many, many years

You are giving me ideas. My land slopes down to a pond, and the 100' around the pond we cannot touch. Nor is our slope that sharp, but I could do a short 2-3' wall like yours across 40' and back fill to raise the slope to level. I doubt DH would allow it as it would interfere with his weed (can't call it a lawn) mowing. I have (with help) developed a 32x32' vegie garden in which I will plant some flowers among the vegies. To me, after the rich Alaskan soil, it looks like Death Valley despite the compost and soil we rototilled in. I think this fall I will cover with leaves and mushroom compost to work itself into the soil over winter

Mary mushroom compost is the best.that's what I used to build up all my clay beds . Just topped the beds off with 10-12" of mushroom compost . That was a lot of dump truck loads . And years later it was well worth all the efforts.

We get truck loads in our small Tacoma. We can get about 1 CY per load. I would have to go back and count the tickets. The problem is that it is only on the top 4-5", and then you hit that clay sand concrete. And we rototilled a lot.

Mary, you might want to try using leaf mold to help with the clay soil, maybe use a broad fork to open the clay up and fill voids with the composted leaves. It's one of the most recommended amendments for breaking up clay. Also, most clay soils on the east coast are fairly acidic, not the best for peonies, so amending with garden lime would probably be good but I'd at least do a simple soil test first.
I knew ours was acidic (native azaleas growing as well as things in the blueberry family) but wasn't concerned as I was planting in raised beds. The one thing I didn't consider is how quickly nutrients would wash out of the beds with their excellent drainage! The soil test that I finally did this spring shows that I really need to fertilize probably at least in early spring and fall every year because of the unique set-up. I'll share a screen snap of the results of the raised beds below. If anyone has any suggestions for making the beds more peony friendly please feel free to share!

Also said I'd share pics of the cottage. I took a couple while I was there, it's just so small inside and so much stuff crammed in that it's always messy looking….thought I'd taken pics of both sides but couldn't find the 2nd side, sharing a pic during building that shows the windows and 2nd door and another from behind the cottage.
One of the things started this spring is climbing roses on either side of the porch. I planted 2 Generous Gardeners last spring, 1 on either side, and started training them on wires this spring. Got a few blooms off of the small plants before I left, it's going to be amazing when they're big!

Liz a great place by the lake and your new garden is outstanding. It's nice to see all your hard work coming to fruition over the past few years. Sitting on that porch over looking the lake and gardens is the quintessential example of peace, serenity while recharging your batteries. Very impressive and lots of hard work . Take it easy this summer …just a little… So much to look foreword too!

Liz, this is already beautiful! Results of your hard work are already showing off! Regarding the soil improvement, I prefer organic fertilizers and compost, nutrients will stay longer and won't be washed away. Good luck! And congratulations on the emerging amazing garden!