i think you need to improve your soil if it is so dry. Lots of good compost or well rotted manure should be on the menu.

Pansies are good winter bedding plant, cyclamen, lots of bulbs which you can plant now...Daffs, Tulips etc

I too garden on very dry ground - woefully so.

You'd be better growing drought resistant perennials really because all annuals require copious watering - plus, you don't need to replace them each year !!!

If you sprinkle some gel granules into the ground where you are planting they will help to hold the moisture over the period when you are adding "the good stuff".

I find the water-retaining gel granules are invaluable in the dry bits of my garden. Mix them in at the bottom of planting holes where the roots are, as they tend to work their way up through the soil and look weird if they get to the surface.

I read a tip which suggested putting some shredded newspaper at the bottom of planting holes in dry gardens. The newspaper helps hold water while the plant is new and the eventually rots down to provide nutrients (or so the tip said). No idea how much of a good idea it would be though.

As GrannyB said soil improver would benefit your garden. If you don't have a compost heap I have found I can get compost quite cheaply from my local tip. They produce it from the green waste (I believe). I believe a lot of local Authorities do the same. I think Sandwell were charging £2 for 40l.

Dig down by say 30CM or so, is the earth damp? I find that the first 30 or so of my soil is very dry all the time, whilst it can be damp/wet underneath. In my case it is a mix of mixed clay soil compacted and treated and housebuilding.

The newspaper tip is good at keeping moisture around roots - but check that they are dry in the first place.

Thank you all for your info x