Humus, Janey. humus and more humus. In Lincolnshire youre soil is probabaly a heavy clay devoid of a moisture retentive component. Dig in much more compost, soil conditioner or composted bark or similar.

Thanks so much Bulbaholic. As the border is full of plants in flower or about too, would you suggest I do this in the Autumn or Spring?

You could also use a mulch to help preserve the moisture levels. Anything from bark chips to gravel will stop the water evaporating during this hot weather. You could add humus as a mulch around your plants now and then dig it in in the autumn.

Just as Ian says.

Thanks both for your help..............there are quite a few plant thugs that I need to rid the garden of too, one being Jerusalem artichokes, I've decided to start from scratch again on this side of the garden, improve the soil, use a pebble mulch and have drought tolerant plants....looking forward now to a new project......:o)

Nice project, Janey, good luck with it.

Thanks Bulb....:o)

Hi I always add sharp sand to my soil it works a treat, also in my hanging baskets, pots and window boxes, it also stops slugs and snails too, goodluck ,