Plants listed below, which will grow with 
very little sun throughout the year, have 
been divided into three categories: 
— plants for damp shady areas 
— plants for dry shady areas 
— plants for heavy shade. 
For the successful cultivation of these 
plants some important factors to observe 
are that good drainage is provided and 
that follow-up maintenance of plants is 
carried out while they are in the devel¬ 
oping stage. Most will not tolerate boggy 
conditions or bad drainage particularly in 
damp shady areas so it is important to 
improve drainage where necessary by 
raising the beds to a higher level. The soil 
should be prepared prior to planting and 
if it is composed of heavy clay it can be 
lightened by incorporating coarse river 
sand and organic matter. Gypsum can be 
used to improve the structure of some clay 
soils and increase their permeability. In 
addition, a good mulch placed around the 
plants will assist in conserving moisture 
and also enriches the soil as it breaks 
down. 
Plants benefit from regular maintenance 
throughout their development, particu¬ 
larly in the first two years. Occasional light 
pruning, generally in spring and autumn 
or whenever required for shaping, will 
increase their vigour and make them 
bushier. Application of a complete fertil¬ 
iser* in spring and autumn is also 
beneficial. 
Plants for damp shady areas 
Astartea fascicularis: small spreading 
shrub to 1 m high with fine needle-like 
leaves and small pinkish-white tea-tree 
like flowers. The flowers are clustered 
around the stems and occur intermittently 
throughout the year. A useful cut flower. 
Asterolasia hexapetala: compact shrub 
1-1.5 m high with soft grey foliage and 
starry-white flowers in spring. 
Baeckea linifolia (swamp baeckea): grace¬ 
ful pendulous shrub to 2 m high with fine 
foliage and small star-like white flowers 
in spring and summer. 
Bauera rubioides (river rose): spreading 
shrub to 1 m high with small narrow 
* See Appendix 
Baeckea linlfolia 
leaflets arranged in circles around the 
stems and mauve-pink flowers in spring 
and summer. 
Billardiera scandens (apple berry): small 
twining plant which can be used as a 
ground cover. The cream tubular flowers 
are followed by fleshy edible fruits. 
Boronia ledifolia: attractive rounded shrub 
to 1 m high which bears numerous deep 
pink flowers along the stems in late winter 
and early spring. 
Boronia megastigma (brown boronia): 
shrub to 1.5 m high with aromatic foliage 
and fragrant cup-shaped flowers varying 
in colour from yellow to dark brown on 
the outside with yellow inside the flower. 
Flowers are produced in late winter and 
early spring. 
Brachysema celsianum (syn. B. lanceol- 
atum) (Swan River pea): spreading shrub 
to 1.5 m high with dark green silver- 
backed leaves and clusters of large, red 
pea-shaped flowers in spring. 
Correa ‘Dusky Bells': probable hybrid 
between C. pulchella and C. refiexa is a 
small spreading shrub 0.3-1 m high and 
2-4 m across with dense growth to ground 
level. The tubular pale pink flowers appear 
in spring and summer. Useful ground 
cover. 
Correa ‘Mannii’: hybrid between C. pul¬ 
chella and C. refiexa is a dense shrub 1- 
2 m high and 2-3 m across with dusky 
pink tubular flowers. Correa ‘Mannii’ is at 
its best in the winter months. 
Correa refiexa: variable shrub from 0.5- 
1.5 m high with tubular yellowish-green 
to deep red flowers tipped with yellow. 
Crowea ‘Poorinda Ecstasy’: hybrid 
327 
M. FAGG 
