Thought others might be interested in my friend's question about plants for shade in a small garden. Ann ------------------------------------------------= We have a shady spot we'd love to plant like the garden you did for the church. Could you email me the names of things (and also say in normal English what they are. Ie. Small grass with yellow flowers etc.)? Yes. The little flowering things do really well in the shade. It's best to buy them at VINC (Victorian Indigenous Nurseries Co-op) so that they are local, and adapted to your soil. When buying from the retail section, look for plants from suburbs on your side of the Yarra river, as there is a major change in soil type at the river. My favourites are: Dianella revoluta Black anther lilly -tufting grey-green foliage to half a metre (spreading), small blue flowers at leaf level and edible purple berries or Dianella tasmanica Tasman flax lilly- an attractive plant. Tufting bright green foliage to two-thirds of a metre (tends not to spread), small blue flowers on spikes to 1 and a half metres, edible purple berries (choose one of these two*) Pelargonium australe-Native geranium- annual, self-seeding geranium with pink flowers and flattish large rosette of green leaves. Prefers deep shade. Viola hederaceae-Native violet. Slowly spreading rosette of green leaves with purple and white violets. Will only grow in nearly full shade. Chrysocephalum semipapposum -Clustered everlasting. Tufts of green stems with small leaves bear yellow balls on top. Tendency to fall over. or Chrysocephalum alpiculatum-Its first cousin, and has grey leaves and larger, more prolific yellow balls. Will spread vigorously if cut off at the base when it withers in summer. Likes sun as well. (both these have a long flowering season, choose one*) Wahlenbergia communis-Austral Bluebell-a must in my view. This bluebell has almost invisible, grass-like stems and leaves. The flowers appear almost all year and spread slowly between other plants, producing very pretty colour combinations. Bracteantha viscosum-Shiny everlasting-The biggest flowers in the garden. Best between other plants as it can look untidy later in the season. Long-flowering. Spreads slowly by seed onto sparsely-covered soil. Indigofera australe-Austral indigo. this shrub (1-2 metres) is worth considering for its spectacular spring flowers. Only survives in shade. Pretty grey-green oval foliage and a sparse habit. You may like to plant some grasses between your flowers though this is not essential. I would recommend Poa labillardieri Grasses are best if they are trimmed. I do mine in March so they spread seed but others do it earlier in the summer. They grow back green almost as soon as you cut them. *When I say to choose, it is only because I think the plants are too alike to have both in the one garden-they look a bit strange together in my view.