Same reason as to why some of our plants are dying of thirst. Planted some blubs the other day and the sop inch of soil is dampish, but below that it is totally moisture free. I have had to put down spout drainage pipes along side some of our newly planted shrubs to get water down to the roots, otherwise it just runs off without ever getting into the sub soil.

Because you are on clay, the little rain we have had has either rolled away or settled on the surface only to be evaporated by the sun. If the borders are not too big, then why not water the ground so that any future rain has a chance to penetrate.

My question was more a rhetorical one and a big moan :). It’s my own fault because I thought the violets looked so pretty in the spring but since I was under the weather for a while I never got around to splitting them. Now I have half a border covered in Violet’s dense leaves.
I’ll get around to it, hopefully next time it rains.

Thank you both for your replies.