I probably wouldn't recommend the extra layers of newspaper between the other layers in your mix unless you are talking about shredded paper to act as a "mulch" material. I would recommend the bottom layers of newspaper/cardboard. (Then if you really want to perhaps some of your clay/granite but you really may not want/need that in truth) Then whatever mulch material, something with nitrogen (alfalfa pellets are good and you don't need huge amounts of them) Some of the composted manure, more mulch etc. I know many people say wood mulch or wood chips arn't so good but if you have them mixed with strong enough greens and some compost and are kept moist, they break down too. Are you planning to grow food in these beds? When are you going to plant in them? There are compelling reasons not to use fresh manure on food beds but these are mostly time related. If you put down fresh manure in the mix, you should not plant food cops in there for quite some time. The amount of time depends on the type of food crop and how long till harvest. I'm guilty of putting grass clippings into my compost and around my garden. Sure, some neighbors probably do weed and feed their lawns but I suspect that they don't do it right before mowing and most of the possible residues are going to be taken care of in the composting process. That is just me and other people will have their own comfort zones. If you need another source of nitrogen, I know one that is free (actually better than free since it might save you money on the water bill) I know some people will think eww yuck, but urine is a great source of nitrogen (and other nutrients) for the garden, compost, and lasagna bed. If you are worried about pathogens, just bottle it for a few weeks which will kill off any that a healthy person is likely to be carrying. Granted, perhaps this doesn't count as certified organic practice but it works very well. Urine is a strong enough green to do a good job on materiasl like wood chips, sawdust, leaves, paper, cardboard etc. Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Roxanne, I didn't know what 'engineered wood mulch" meant so I Googled it came up with this: "The technique for stabilizing wood chips, called engineered wood fiber, with a polyurethane or latex binder was developed by FPL researchers to provide an affordable method for making recreational and playground facilities accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility aids." Is this the "engineered wood mulch" you are considering? I'm sorry I can't answer your question. Hopefully someone on this forum knows more about it. More here: Here is a link that might be useful: engineered wood fiber

I don't think it would hurt anything. I use wood chips with cardboard underneath to keep the weed and grass growth down. Wood chips are a good mulch for anything, garden included, if you add lots of composted, old manure to the soil first to replace the nitrogen that the wood chips use up. Sometimes it depends on type of tree the wood shavings are from. Don't use walnut anywhere and use dolomite lime with pine/spruce unless you want the extra acid.

I would certainly remove as much of the stone edging/retaining wall as possible and reset after weeding and cleaning out the beds - it is not well laid and looks extremely haphazard. Unfortunately, a rock border or edging is not all that effective at keeping turf grass from migrating into the planting area. And mixing a lot of different hardscape materials - like using pavers as a border with the rock 'walls' - promotes a rather disjointed and messy appearance as well. You might want to try installing a rigid edging material on the outside (lawn side) of the rocks to prevent this. If installed properly, this sort of edging material is virtually invisible. To lighten/loosen your hard soil and encourage better plant growth, I'd also suggest adding a good amount of compost or composted manure to the planting areas. That area does not look all that shady to me - what's creating the shade? Something we can't see? Areas that do not receive direct sunlight can still offer a lot of indirect light, which can be quite bright. I'd prefer to reserve many planting suggestions until I knew exactly what kind of shade we are talking about, how long for and from what. Forget the poppies. They are only able to grow well in a few isolated locations in the US - Alaska, parts of the PNW and some areas of coastal New England. And even in these select locations, they are not easy plants to grow. They will NOT grow in CO so save your money - they are far too expensive to experiment with! Also, most primroses are water lovers and are best suited to a moist, woodland location close to a water source - doubt they would be happy in CO's summer dryness. The hellebores could work. They really do not require heavy shade (actually prefer a bit of early day sun) and are quite drought tolerant once established. Other shade or part shade perennials you could consider are hostas, bleeding heart (Dicentra species), columbine, coral bells (heuchera), campanula, and ferns.