Flower Bed & Drainage

Voyagerxp

I've got a rectangle flower bed at the top of my drive. Its very free draining with a gritty soil and get a lot of sun all day. Is there something i can add to the soil to make it hold water, i have to water it a lot through the summer. It has 2 shrub roses & a Hydrangea paniculata in it.

GardenerSuze

@Vogagerxp As you know both of these plants love a retentive soil so you will always have a fight on your hands. I think you should plant for the soil you have, continuous artifical watering is no fun for you. Going against nature never works no matter how you want to grow a particular plant. 

nick615

One tried and tested retention method, albeit for runner beans not flowers, is to lay thick wads of newsprint in the soil before back filling and planting.  Whether your desperation level is enough to incorporate the idea, preferably at the end of the current season when replanting is less risky, is entirely up to you?

Fairygirl

It's a case of wrong plants for the wrong site. You're constantly fighting with conditions that aren't ideal for the plants you've chosen. 
Both of those will cope with sun, but only if they're feet are right. 
Better to choose plants more suited to the site, and put your hydrangeas and roses somewhere else where they'll be happier, and so will you