Revamp garden

Hello to you all on this sunny afternoon.

I moved into my house about 3 years ago. I removed the lawn completely on approx 3mtr x 3mtr south facing patch (which is at the front of the house - well I say lawn but it was dreadful - and then without looking after the soil, put in lots of perennials which are now a riot of colour. I have 3 dwarf fruit trees which I have in pots, but as it is south facing they dry out too quickly so want to plant them out.

The soil under the perennials is now looking dry and desert like and there is no richness to it. I would like to take out all the perennials, treat the soil, and then replant the perennials and trees and put a topping on it to retain moisture.

I obviously don't want to lose all the plants I have so wonder whether it is best to do this in the spring or the autumn?

I have a lovely compost heap and some good rich soil in the back garden which I would use but is there anything else I would need to do to get this soil into good condition?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Regards
Linda
I have attached a couple of pictures

 

Welcome to GC Linda. That's a big task you want to undertake, I'd wait until the plants are dormant later in the year. Could you not dig the compost in around the plants then instead of removing the plants, which you may lose in the process.

 

Hallo Linda,
a south facing garden always means that drying out will be a challenge. Plants and shrubs that cope more readily aren't always the ones you want though are they? Nevertheless, I would recommend that you go on line and read up about your land and see what can be done to make the most of it. Others will be along to give less pessimistic advice no doubt,
enjoy our Gardeners Corner,