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!
