I would opt option 3 Why rake I the manure ? It is the best soil amender and conditioner. Of course it depend op the native soil underneath. But all the aged manure can help. Another consideration would be direct sun. I think in zone one the more direct sun, the better for gardening. Good luck !

The one time I grew arugula, the plants sustained incredible growth throughout the winter. As I recall, no need to cover for frosts. In the spring they were huge, and bolted fairly early. Mine were a magnet for lady bugs which feed on aphids. A good future strategy might be to place some arugula on your border (in the fall) as a beacon / home for the lady bugs in the spring, as a desfense against the aphids. When the arugula bolt, they get very tall and completely change character. You won't recognize them.

Well, I had to look it up, but I think that's a wonderful idea. I also made my own out of paving blocks for plants that needed to be up off the ground. I could use a few here, because the ground is so soft, and in the summer, it never dries out. I almost lost my yellow crown of thorns due to rot because its terracotta pot was sitting right on the ground. I think using staggered size pavers would be a good way to make them. Like take four 24" square pavers for the base, paint them a pretty color, then put four 12" square pavers on those in another pretty color. If you wanted, you could bring it up one more layer with smaller driveway pavers. It would be a lovely way to keep your plants off the ground. OR you could make your own with poured concrete & boards in any shape and depth you want. Now you've got me thinking!

Beautiful garden. I think it will be difficult to keep grass looking good around raised beds unless you have a lawn mowing company and then it will not be a problem. As' localeater' mentioned I would not use pea gravel. Seeing your beautiful garden I would not use any kind of gravel, but I think a stone path between the two beds and from the patio would look good. Of course if later you decide that that is not the place for your beds then it would look silly to have a path from the patio to the middle of your lawn. Good luck on your garden.