Every plant in the Shade-Loving Native Retreat collection is chosen to deliver on native plants for shade. Add a few that share your conditions and group them for the strongest effect.
Shade-Loving Native Retreat
Shady corners need not be dull. These natives are adapted to the forest understorey and bring lush greenery to part-shade and low-light spots.
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Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · from $4.50 One of Australia's most popular garden hybrids — a low-maintenance native shrub producing red toothbrush flowers almost year-round to feed the birds. -
Waratah · Telopea speciosissima (Sm.) R.Br. · from $4.95 The floral emblem of New South Wales — a striking evergreen shrub crowned in spring by vivid red flowerheads, prized as a feature plant and cut flower. -
Albany Pitcher Plant · Cephalotus follicularis A rare carnivorous plant from south-west Western Australia, forming a low rosette of intricate ribbed, lidded pitchers that flush deep red in good light. A prized, slow-growing collector's species. -
Australian Nut Palm · Cycas media An Australian native cycad forming a palm-like trunk topped with arching glossy fronds, found through Queensland's tropical woodlands. A hardy architectural feature; seeds and foliage are toxic to pets. -
Blue Flax Lily 'Little Jess' · Dianella caerulea 'Little Jess' A compact, clumping strap-leaved flax lily with airy sprays of blue starry flowers followed by glossy purple berries. A tough, low-care mass-planting and border grass for sun or shade. -
Blue Flax-Lily · Dianella caerulea A clumping strappy native with starry blue flowers followed by glossy violet berries that draw birds. Tough, tidy and at home in mass plantings or pots. -
Bluebell Creeper · Billardiera heterophylla A dainty Western Australian native twiner hung with nodding clusters of bright blue bell flowers through the warmer months, followed by blue berries. Pretty and hardy, but a weed risk outside its native range. -
Bower Vine · Pandorea jasminoides · from $16.95 A vigorous evergreen climber with glossy foliage and large trumpet-shaped pink flowers with deep rose throats through the warmer months. Ideal for covering pergolas, fences and arbours. -
Bower Wattle · Acacia cognata 'Limelight' · from $18.95 A soft, weeping dwarf wattle with fine cascading lime-green foliage that forms a neat mounding feature. Popular in containers and modern landscapes for its graceful fountain-like form. -
Brasco Violet Native Daisy · Brachyscome 'Brasco Violet' A compact mounding native daisy smothered in violet-purple flowers over a very long season. Hardy and free-flowering, ideal for borders, pots and bee-attracting plantings. -
Breeze Flax Lily · Dianella caerulea 'Breeze' A fine-leaved flax lily forming a soft fountain of bright green foliage with blue flowers and purple berries. Hardy and versatile for borders and mass plantings. -
Brush Box · Lophostemon confertus A robust evergreen Australian native with a dense rounded canopy of glossy leaves, peeling reddish-brown bark and fluffy white summer flowers. A tough, widely planted street and shade tree. -
Bulbine Lily · Bulbine bulbosa A tufted native lily with fleshy grass-like leaves and spikes of fragrant star-shaped yellow flowers in spring. An easy, drought-hardy perennial and bush-food bulb. -
Cassa Blue Flax Lily · Dianella caerulea 'Cassa Blue' A compact Australian native flax lily with upright blue-grey strappy foliage, sprays of small blue flowers and shiny purple berries. A versatile, hardy choice for borders, mass plantings and pots. -
Common Correa · Correa reflexa · from $5.50 A versatile small shrub with pendulous red-and-green tubular bells through autumn and winter that supply nectar to honeyeaters when little else flowers. Shade-tolerant and frost-hardy. -
Common Tussock Grass · Poa labillardierei A handsome large tussock grass with fine blue-green foliage forming soft fountain-like clumps topped by airy summer seed heads. A movement-rich native for mass planting and erosion control. -
Cushion Banksia · Banksia spinulosa 'Cushion' A low, spreading dwarf form of the hairpin banksia forming a dense mound studded with gold-and-black flower spikes through the cooler months. A compact bird-attracting groundcover shrub. -
Cut-leaf Daisy · Brachyscome multifida · from $4.25 A dainty spreading native daisy carpeted in mauve, purple or white flowers for much of the year above ferny green foliage. Ideal for borders, rockeries, containers and attracting butterflies. -
Drumsticks · Isopogon anemonifolius A compact eastern shrub with finely divided leaves and yellow flower clusters that mature into woody, drumstick-like seed cones. A tough, tidy feature for sandstone gardens. -
Dusky Bells Correa · Correa 'Dusky Bells' A low spreading shrub with dark green foliage and pendent dusky-pink bell flowers through autumn and winter. Shade-tolerant, bird-attracting and ideal for groundcover. -
Dusky Coral Pea · Kennedia rubicunda A tough, fast Australian native climber and groundcover bearing dusky red pea flowers in spring that attract honeyeaters. Hardy and adaptable, it is excellent for binding banks and quick cover. -
Dwarf Apple · Angophora hispida A gnarled small tree or large shrub of Sydney sandstone with bristly new growth and showy creamy-white summer blossom rich in nectar. A characterful bird-attracting feature. -
Dwarf Lilly Pilly · Syzygium smithii 'Minor' A compact lilly pilly with flushes of coppery new growth, fluffy white flowers and edible mauve berries. A versatile, hardy hedge and screen for most gardens. -
Dwarf River Wattle · Acacia cognata A compact, weeping wattle grown for its fountain of fine lime-green foliage rather than its flowers — a soft, mounding feature for pots, borders and low screens. -
Eelweed · Vallisneria australis A native submerged oxygenating aquatic with long ribbon-like leaves that sway in the current. Valuable for keeping pond water clear and providing habitat for fish. -
Fairy Fan-flower · Scaevola aemula 'Purple Fanfare' A spreading native groundcover smothered in fan-shaped mauve-purple flowers from spring through autumn. A fast, hardy carpet and trailing container plant for sun. -
Federation Belle Correa · Correa 'Federation Belle' A compact rounded shrub bearing large pendent pink bell flowers through autumn and winter. Hardy and bird-attracting, ideal for borders and containers. -
Finger Lime · Citrus australasica 'Australian Finger Lime' An Australian rainforest native bush-food prized for its finger-shaped fruit packed with tangy caviar-like vesicles. A thorny, slow understorey shrub that fruits in autumn and suits dappled light or a sheltered pot. -
Firewheel Tree · Stenocarpus sinuatus A handsome rainforest tree with glossy lobed leaves and extraordinary spoke-like wheels of scarlet-and-gold flowers in autumn. A spectacular bird-attracting feature tree. -
Fishbone Water Fern · Blechnum nudum An Australian native fern forming a neat shuttlecock of soft, fishbone-patterned fronds above a short, slowly developing trunk. Ideal massed beside ponds and in moist, shaded ferneries. -
Flannel Flower · Actinotus helianthi A soft grey-felted wildflower bearing daisy-like cream flowers with green-tipped petals that feel like flannel. A treasured short-lived perennial for sandy coastal gardens and cut flowers. -
Fraser Island Creeper · Tecomanthe hillii A handsome Australian native rainforest climber with glossy foliage and showy clusters of rosy-pink trumpet flowers in spring. A choice, frost-tender vine for sheltered subtropical gardens. -
Free n Easy Native Lilac · Hardenbergia violacea 'Free n Easy' A vigorous twining climber smothered in white pea flowers through winter and spring. Hardy and fast, ideal for fences, trellises and screening in low-water gardens. -
Fringe Lily · Thysanotus tuberosus A delicate native perennial bearing exquisite purple flowers with finely fringed petals on wiry stems over grassy foliage in late spring. A dainty bush-tucker tuber and collector's wildflower. -
Fringed Wattle · Acacia fimbriata A soft, weeping wattle with fine fringed foliage and a profuse late-winter display of fragrant lemon-gold pom-poms. Fast, hardy and ideal as an informal screen or quick filler. -
Granny's Grave Correa · Correa reflexa 'Granny's Grave' A hardy spreading correa with red and green tubular bell flowers through autumn and winter that draw honeyeaters. A tough, shade-tolerant feature and groundcover. -
Grass Tree · Xanthorrhoea glauca An iconic slow-growing Australian grass tree forming a stout dark trunk topped with a fountain of blue-green foliage and a tall flower spear after fire. A sculptural living feature. -
Great Balls of Fire Bottlebrush · Callistemon 'Great Balls of Fire' A dense rounded bottlebrush grown chiefly for its brilliant red and pink new foliage flushes, with occasional red brushes. A colourful, hardy low hedge. -
Green Globe Honey Myrtle · Melaleuca 'Green Globe' A naturally rounded dwarf melaleuca with dense bright green foliage forming a tidy ball without pruning. Ideal for low formal hedges, balls and container feature plantings. -
Gymea Lily · Doryanthes excelsa A massive rosette-forming lily of the Sydney region throwing up flower stems to 4m topped with a head of large red blooms. A bold architectural feature and bird magnet. -
Hairpin Banksia · Banksia spinulosa · from $5.50 A reliable evergreen shrub bearing golden-yellow flower spikes with distinctive hooked styles through autumn and winter, providing vital nectar for birds. Tough, frost-hardy and bushfire-adapted. -
Hop Goodenia · Goodenia ovata 'Gold Cover' A prostrate form of hop goodenia spreading into a glossy green mat dotted with bright yellow flowers for most of the year. A fast, hardy groundcover for sun or shade. -
Icee Blue Plum Pine · Podocarpus elatus 'Icee Blue' A striking selection of the native plum pine with powdery blue-grey new growth and a naturally narrow, upright habit. An eye-catching modern hedge, screen or container feature. -
Ivory Curl Tree · Buckinghamia celsissima A Queensland rainforest tree with glossy foliage and long, fragrant cream flower spikes that cascade over the canopy in summer. A spectacular feature and street tree for warm climates. -
Kangaroo Vine · Cissus antarctica A lush evergreen rainforest climber with glossy toothed leaves that quickly clothes a fence or pergola in deep green and tolerates shade. A hardy screening vine and popular indoor plant. -
Katie Belles Lomandra · Lomandra longifolia 'Katie Belles' A tall upright lomandra with broad green strappy leaves and tall scented yellow flower spikes. Architectural and hardy, excellent for screening and feature plantings. -
King Fern · Todea barbara A massive, long-lived Australian native fern building a broad fibrous crown of leathery dark green fronds from a thick mounding base. A bold, statuesque feature for moist, sheltered gardens. -
Knobby Club-rush · Ficinia nodosa A tough, tufting coastal sedge with wiry dark green stems tipped by little knobby seed heads. Salt-, wind- and waterlogging-tolerant, it excels in coastal and rain-garden plantings. -
Lady Di Bower Vine · Pandorea jasminoides 'Lady Di' A vigorous evergreen climber with glossy foliage and large pure white trumpet flowers with pale yellow throats through spring and summer. Ideal for fences and pergolas. -
Lemon Myrtle · Backhousia citriodora A rainforest tree whose glossy leaves release an intense lemon fragrance and are prized as a bush-tucker culinary herb, topped with fluffy cream flowers in summer. A useful aromatic feature and screen. -
Lemon-scented Tea Tree · Leptospermum petersonii A tall tea tree with aromatic lemon-scented foliage and white spring blossom, often grown as a fragrant informal hedge. The leaves can be steeped for a citrus bush tea. -
Lilly Pilly · Syzygium australe · from $3.95 Australia's favourite native screen — glossy evergreen leaves flushed coppery-red when new, clipping into dense hedges and topiary, followed by edible magenta berries the birds love. -
Lime Tuff Lomandra · Lomandra confertifolia 'Lime Tuff' A compact fine-leaved lomandra forming a dense lime-green tuft that needs no trimming. Tough and drought-hardy, ideal for borders, containers and mass plantings. -
Lime Tuff Mat-rush · Lomandra 'Lime Tuff' A compact, dense lomandra with fine lime-green foliage forming a tidy rounded tussock. Tough and low-care, it suits formal borders, mass plantings and containers. -
Little Jess Flax Lily · Dianella 'Little Jess' A compact, clumping flax lily with deep green strappy leaves, sprays of blue starry flowers and purple berries. A neat, tough small native for borders, pots and mass planting. -
Long-leaf Wax Flower · Philotheca myoporoides A neat shrub with aromatic foliage and pink buds opening to masses of starry white waxy flowers in winter and spring. A fine cut flower and a fragrant, hardy garden filler. -
Lucia Flax Lily · Dianella 'Lucia' A compact flax lily with blue-green foliage that develops purple tints, plus blue flowers and berries. Tough, frost-hardy and tidy for borders and mass plantings. -
Luscious Water Gum · Tristaniopsis laurina 'Luscious' A selected water gum with large glossy leaves, smooth orange-brown bark and clusters of fragrant yellow flowers in summer. A handsome, well-behaved shade and street tree. -
Marian's Marvel Correa · Correa 'Marian's Marvel' An upright shrub with long pink and yellow-green bell flowers through autumn and winter that draw honeyeaters. A hardy, shade-tolerant feature and informal screen. -
Matted Dampiera · Dampiera diversifolia A spreading WA groundcover forming a dense low mat that becomes a sheet of intense violet-blue flowers in spring and summer. A striking colour carpet for well-drained gardens.