Hibbertia (native buttercup) loves understorey shade and will reward with bright yellow flowers. I plant and forget mine, with no additional water (after 2 years of establishment).

Running postman (kennedia prostrata) is a red pea flowered ground cover and grows very well in dry shade.

Sorry, but these are WA native suggestions - there may be more suitable local plants. I try to go for ground covers which can tolerate dry spots - and some of these include grevilleas.

Sorry I forgot to mention my region. I'm in sydney and tend to get light frosts in winter.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into them.
cheers
Andrea

It can be hard with a native garden. Sometimes they can take on a rather brown look which, I think is a combination of all that grey/green foliage and native style mulches. This can look a bit dull when all around you exotic gardens are looking their best. It can be tempting to pop out and buy a few pots of petunias. Just kidding!
Could you consider improving the moisture retentiveness of at least a few spots in your garden? This way you will increase the range of plants you can grow. If you are able to do this, I'd suggest a you try some mint bushes, (prostantheras). These are easy to grow and are coming into flower now. There is a variegated leaf form of P. ovaliflolia which will brighten up a shady spot even when not in flower.
Another way to brighten up a native garden is to grow some colourful, long flowering plants, (paper daisies, scaevola and kangaroo paws are great), in large pots which can be grouped together where they receive sufficient sun. This can be on steps or at the edge of a deck and, since these are often the first things you see, they can make a garden appear more colourful than it really is.

Some good ideas Wattleblossum, thank you. My goodness there seems to be a vast array of mint bushes! Is the westringa considered one of these? I like the look of the Prosthanthera Poorinda Ballerina, though am confused that it is 'not a naturally occurring species'. Does this mean someone created it? (not sure of the right term to use here) Does this matter? What does this mean?
Bewildered, but inspired.

A really great shade plant is pletranthus argentifolium. It is a short creepy thing with sliver leaves and purple flowers. My mum grows it in solid clay, on a bank, under 80% shade.

Doing a search for the plectranthus led me nowhere except to a document on weeds in southern Africa (from Tanzania southwards). In the South African section, there was list of Acacia, Eucalyptus, Hakea, and some surprising ones such as Grevillea robusta.

The link is a 1.23 Mb Adobe Acrobat download - be warned.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weeds in Southern Africa

Andrea,
what type of soil do you have? Clay, sandy, loam?
Would help in suggesting suitable species...

Regards,

Shax

Shax,
The soil is sandy, I think more than loam. I'm not sure to be honest what makes a loam? Not as sandy? It is not clay, at all. it has execellent drainage, perhaps too much. In some parts you don't have to dig down too far to hit rock. Basically the site is a larg rock (I think sandstone) with a deposit of dirt and my house on top.
Does this help?
Andrea

I also forgot to mention that most of the site is a slope. I'm on the side of a gully in northern sydney. A gully that leads (after the other side of the street) into bushland. I think most of the gums and all of the grass trees are naturally occuring, they weren't removed when the house was built.

Andrea,
if a sandy and well drained soil, you should be able to grow many West Aussie natives, especially grevilleas (and the previously mentioned Kangaroo Paws). Also consider Acacia spp. (wattles) for quick establishment plants.
After planting ANYTHING in your circumstances, mulch, mulch and mulch!
Also incorporate as much organic material (rotted manure, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, mushroom compost) as you can get...no need to dig 'em in...just lay on top of soil and under your mulch...worms will do the work!

Suggest you visit local nurseries and check out what they recommend...

Good luck and enjoy your new venture!

Regards,

Shax
(Go the Swanies!!!!)

Andrea,
forgot to mention the (to me!) most desirable Aussie plant of all...WARATAHS. Your conditions sound ideal...shallow free-draining soil over sandstone, part shade...perfect!
Sounds like you may be near my old stamping grounds of Berowra area?

Regards,

Shax

Shax,
You got the area right, in one! I'm not far at all. About the Waratah though, are you sure the part shade will do? I don't seem to get much sun. Especially in winter as I am on a south facing gully and the sun all but dissapears for a few months. I heard on the radio today(not a greatly reliable resource I suppose)that the Waratahs need full sun to flower. I know my neighbour has one that doesn't do well.
I'm off to mulch mulch mulch tomorrow. (what I do have)
A

WARRATAHS ARE VERY HARDY IF YOU GET IT RIGHT(sorry caps lock)
partially shaded with morning sun is best but they grow in any conditions they do hate wet feet so mound up the soil as they also like to have a deep root system but do NOT let the roots dry out they will fall over and die
I have now growing 4 types in a courtyard in st george
that endures pretty good frosts but they are rampant in the blue mountains in the wild so frost isnt a issue and
finally mulch them really well

What a great response. Thanks everyone! I will need to do a bit of planning, can't wait to get started. Next year I may need sunglass to walk around my garden, as it will be so bright!
I'm going to find a place for some waratahs... I like the idea of that, I just have to locate that morning sun!

Here ya go, Andrea!

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Waratahs

http://www.global-garden.com.au/backissue4/gardenaustralianplants.htm talks about silver plectranthus.

Fabulous Nathan,
Good link. This looks a very useful plant! A little worried about the frost, but I'm going to pursue it as a filler. I think our frosts are light. I am typing with one finger, cause I squashed one with a big sandstone rock today while 'landscaping'. Ouchhhhh....
thanks again.
I bought some mint bushes and westringa today, they will be going in soon. I'm still looking for the right spot for waratah. Do red and purple flowers clash?

"Do red and purple flowers clash?"

Nope. You could even get a chorizema and have both colours in the one flower! :)

Andrea, now that you've bought a westringia and some prostantheras, you've probably found the answer to your question about whether they're the same. As for P. 'Poorinda Ballerina', this is a hybrid between P. phylicifolia and P. lasianthos, and probably carries the best of both. Hybrids and cultivars often perform better than the species.
As an architect, I understand exactly what you mean by 'south facing', (you'd be amazed at the number of people who don't even know where the sun rises). But there may be something you can do to let in more light. You need to start by taking special note of where the sun shines, if at all, in your garden over the next few months. Do this once a week at 3 hourly intervals, (if you need help with how to do this, email me). Once you've got this sorted out you can consider removing the odd branch or two from some of the gum trees to extend the time these areas receive light. Unfortunately, if the trees causing the shade are on your neighbour's property, or if there are houses (including your own) to the north, east and west, creating shade from 9am-3pm for most of the year, then it's back to looking for plants which will take the shade, and/or considering other options.
If your budget allows, you have the option of using some sort of garden architecture. This could be in the form of a white lattice screen or arch. Both will draw the eye to a light spot in an area where flowers can't and, they'll create interest by dividing different parts of the garden. Demolition yards are good places to look for old gates and window grilles which can also be used for this purpose. Even a white birdbath, dovecote or old painted garden chair will add interest to a dark corner.
If I had a shady garden I'd get some water into it. I'd have water spilling over rocks to create little pools surrounded by lots of tree ferns and somewhere cool to sit. Sorry, I know I've just spent thousands of dollors in one paragraph, but it sounds as though you have the makings of what could be a really interesting garden.

I am surprised no one has mentioned Boronia's. They cope well in sandy soils with full shade and have lots of color and aroma. Can be short lived so you need to replant every 4-5 years or choose species wisely. Also, a related plant, Crowea exalata, could be an excellent addition to your garden.

Other considerations

Tetrotheca ciliata
Thrymptomene spp.
Phebalium squamulosum varieties
Micrantheum hexandrum
Bauera rubioides
Leptospermum continentale (hedge)
Lasiopetalum floribundum
Hypocalymma 'Golden Veil'
Hibbertia dentata (others Hibbertia species may smother plants but this one is excellent. Take a close look at this for a ground cover, part climber)
Calytrix sullivanii (copes with semi shade)
Aphanopetalum resinosum (climber)

Some of these suggestions grow readily in Sydney but others seem suited to your conditions but I don't know if anyone in Sydney grows them there. Some are different and although available are not grown often but probably should be.

Perhaps some Sydneysiders have grown these and can comment.

Thanks so much to Wattleblossum for the great inspiration. I'm embracing the rugged beauty of my difficult garden. I too didn't have much of a clue about north or south facing situations before I bought my house. Boy am I aware now. Of course not long after moving in I thought I made the biggest mistake of my life! The living areas were south facing, the front garden where we invisaged a lawn for our 2 year old was shaded by the house 6 months of the year and pretty much no sun reached the rest, the back yard being higher than the house. But great views of the bush from up there.
But rather than wallowing in what seemed at the time bad real estate decisions, I now love my garden (always loved the house) and can see that it will be a very interesting and beautiful place to be, if I succeed in nurturing it.

Also thanks to Danili for your suggestions. I'm churning through them. I actually planted a boronia a few weeks ago. It lasted about 3 weeks before curling it's toes and disintigrating in front of my eyes! Am a little scared of them now!
A

I've never managed to keep a boronia alive for more than a few months.

Boronia megastigma: deeper, wider pots and put some rock or ground cover(we actually have used luzula, myoporum and kunzea for this purpose!) over the roots. Daily dripper water is also good. With this approach we've kept one plant alive for 5 years. Foam boxes are especially good as they insulate the soil well, which seems critical for many species (see also post in richea thread).

Honestly, though I want to learn as much as I can about plants and intelligently apply this knowlege while growing my garden, if the boronia is as finnicky as it seems to be, then it probably won't be revisiting my garden soon. They have to be more self sufficient than that. There must be a reason they need very specific conditions. Too much fiddling and pandering!
A

"I've never managed to keep a boronia alive for more than a few months."

me either, theyre bloomin temperamental things

Don't give up on Boronias, they are wonderful plants but they do like a little water and can turn up their heels quickly. On the other hand they are very pretty, come in many colors and have a lovely aroma. Look up correas as well, they should do very well. I was supposed to mentioned them in my previous post but inadvertantly left it out. Easy to grow, love shaded areas.

Aeor,
Plectranthus argentatus -I have established this as a groundcover, we get some frosts, say about 5 or so times during the winter with the hardest at -4 the tops of the plants may get frosted and die back, but the plants seem to enjoy a bit of pruning, can come back in the spring. For establishment I planted after rain, and watered once.
regards
Dorothy

Thanks for the info Dorothy, I think I might try and find some now, and see how it does in the frosts. It sounds great.
cheers
Andrea

A great resource for plants in any conditions is the SGAP plant study group book "Grow What Where". It includes a dry shade plant category. Check your local library.

Frank