I don't think that there is a forum here that I can point you to but my hubby is a contractor and he would recommend putting a sign out in front of your property that you are accepting fill dirt with clay in it. Clay will not pack down like topsoil will and will be a good heavy medium to use for the majority of your hill. Then I would top it with fill dirt after any threat of heavy spring rain has passed and seed it with grass. You will get tons of folks stopping by and they will be happy to drive back to the section of your property that you wish the fill dirt to be deposited. Ask for clean fill, no rocks or debris otherwise you will end up with concrete, gravel or shards of clay tiles in the mix that might poke through with some settling that will occur. You may want to rent a Bobcat for a weekend to move the dirt around and tamp it down firmly between layers of new additions of clay and soil. I wish you luck and boy would my kids love to play at your house once that big hill is finished!

Lucy... I'm in zone 9 and have had the EE I've had in the ground at this house for 20 years--over that time we had several very cold winters and they all survived. I received mine initially from my BIL who lives in zone 5 and he did pull them out every year, just shook the soil off them--did not hose them down (it is supposed to do with the transpiration & the roots...and soil can act as an insulator??) and then he placed the 'extremely dry' bulb in a double brown bag and stored them in his basement. He has this awesome compost pile and his humungeous plants were over 6 feet tall and the leaves were so HUGE across the surface!!!! Remember the juice from EE can destroy a good shirt!!! Good luck Lucy!!! ~MJ

Thanks for that, Digit! I will now be posting pics again—even if they only look like ugly links! I have SO many things blooming in my yard already I’ve been WANTING to post some pics! But have more I need to download/upload (never have figured out which is which!) into the computer first—that I hadn’t bothered since I “couldn’t” post them anyway! Will do it in the next couple days! I don’t have a google+ page! And I don’t intend to ever have one! If I sign up for google+ my WebAlbums will be TOTALLY messed up—as I discovered when I tried to help somebody, last fall, try to figure out how to use Picasa and WebAlbums! It’s a total mess in WebAlbums in “+”, and as near as I can tell, once you sign up for it it’s TOO LATE, and the “new and improved” version (NOT!) is all you have access to anymore. As a matter of fact, if some of your pics really did “disappear,” I wonder if that had something to do with it! I haven’t “updated” Picasa for a couple years either (I just keep telling it NO when it pleads with me to update it!) ‘cause I’m afraid that’ll somehow get me into the google+ version—and I won’t be able to opt out of it again! I REALLY don’t understand why these companies keep trying to “improve” something that’s already working really, really well! (google maps REALLY screwed up their “maps” too, IMO! But I still have a link to Olde Google Maps—that still works! If they ever discontinue the olde maps, I don’t have a CLUE what I’ll use for maps! Bing, IMO, is at least as bad as the “new” google maps! HELLO out there! STOP “fixing” things that don’t need fixing!!!) (And my avatar on FB, which I haven’t signed into for a year!, is an airplane! And that’s the only place I have an avatar at all!!!) I don’t know why you didn’t “need to” change your setting to “enable” PMing, but maybe that’s something else they’ve changed recently—like putting in the ability to enter your zone (tho I’m gonna leave mine in as my “last name!”) When I went to that page I had to change the settings to get them right to enable PMing. Maybe now it’s the default when GW folks get into the houzz site. But there is SOMETHING that needs to be “fixed” for David, because there’s no “message box” visible on His Page, and until that’s there, nobody can PM him. I’m sure it’ll all get straightened out! We are, gradually, getting back to “our old GW!” Never would have believed that when I showed up here the first day and went—SAY WHAT????? I’m really impressed with the admins and all they’ve done! As for me! Maybe I’ll take some more pics tomorrow! Skybird

Thank you for the continued advice, I really do appreciate it. Right now I’m considering the Remington sofa from Arhaus, but I am worried it might not be a great value. The frames have a lifetime warranty and the cushion is possibly a 3 year - I can’t remember exactly. It’s upholstered in linen although if I were brave enough, I could go for leather again for 1K more. I wish I could see it in my space! Stated home, I will read up on the 8 way tie and ask more questions. I couldn’t get in to Restoration, but I saw the Cloud sectional through the window. Pass. Crate and Barrel gave me a “sectionals expert” who couldn’t answer any of my questions so I left. I’ll check out Hancock and Moore. Kristin Petro, thanks for weighing in. My mother had a decorator (and impeccable taste) and I think that helped her. Perhaps I should have tried to go that route. I will check the brands you mentioned. I’m the tiniest bit leather shy at the moment due to my previous mistake. Actually, I’m not even sure I want a sectional will it look dated in 10 years? Sarah, I’ve never heard of them but will check them out. Cat mom, shocker, I’d never heard of W Schillig either but I will check them out. MizLiz, I totally get that, I’m allergic to everything too. My sister has a dust mite allergy that makes me feel bad for considering not-leather. The Arhaus piece is made in North Carolina. Christine, Herman’s is a new lead - thanks! Boris, I bought my current sectional online. I did not research the quality as well as I thought I had, and I’m a researcher. I want to see and sit on my next couch before I buy it. You know, once bitten, twice shy. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to help me. If you have an opinion on Arhaus, Belgian Linen vs. Leather, sofa and chair vs. sectional, by all means let me know!