Pamela Anderson Felt 'Exploited' During Season 1 of “Pamela's Garden of Eden”: 'I'm Taking Back My Power' (Exclusive)

The actress and author opens up to PEOPLE about the new season of her HGTV home renovation show, and why she's so much happier with this season than the first: "I was a bit of a mess. It was not my favorite time of life"

Pamela Anderson is excited to get back to television for season 2 of Pamela's Garden of Eden — especially because this time around, it was a much more positive experience and she had control of the direction.

"The first season, I was a bit of a mess," Anderson, 56, confesses to PEOPLE of the series, now streaming on Hulu. "It was not my favorite time of life. I was in survival mode while writing my memoir [Love, Pamela], the documentary [Pamela: A Love Story] was being made, and I was an open wound when it was being shot. I just wasn't that happy with it."

"The second season is about redemption, authenticity, truth and self acceptance," she adds. "I'm taking my power back, instead of giving it up. I took control of the show and figured out a way to keep to my vision, and turn it into a positive experience. I kept it real."

Related: Pamela Anderson Reflects on Her Makeup-Free Movement: 'Do We Even Know What a Face Looks Like Anymore'

Reflecting on her mindset during season 1, Anderson says, "Before, I was thinking it was a little HGTV Canada show and that it was going to just be about sustainable design. I was wrong, unfortunately, and once again I felt slightly exploited."

She continues, "I was allowing others to make decisions. I had no idea they’d use old photos or ex husbands, or any of my celebrity life. It always is shocking that that part of me seems interesting at all, when I felt my weakest and my worst. Anyway, that was then and this is now."

The series follows the actress and author as she renovates her grandmother's legacy property on the water in Vancouver Island, Canada, which she bought decades ago. For season 2, she mixes it up by redesigning a home in Los Angeles with her two sons Brandon, 28, and Dylan, 25.

"We have gotten into our groove," she says of filming. "The boys are much more a part of the family property creation now, which was my dream. I wanted to involve them without consuming them. We also renovated their new house in L.A. while we had to wait for the never-ending permit and restriction process that comes with living on the water."

She notes that she doesn't mind that the permits take forever: "All decisions must be taken seriously when you're living in a rainforest, since there are environmental impacts of building anything. I'm only wanting to put cabins where my grandmother had hers, and keep the rest of the property simple and beautiful... gentle, and not overdone."

Related: Brandon Lee Says 'Pamela, A Love Story' Had a 'Real Impact' on Mom Pamela Anderson (Exclusive)

While Anderson says she learned some harsh lessons about home renovations during this entire process, she's also learned to fully trust herself and her vision for the space, which includes a massive vegetable garden, where she grows her own food for her plant-based diet.

"I’ve learned not to rush things, to focus on the gardens while my sons figure out the buildings," she says. "I’m in a happy place, Surrounded by flowers, trees and dogs..."

She then adds, "And making pickles!"

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Pamela's Garden of Eden is now streaming on Hulu.

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