Pittosporum tobira

Sarcococca is an evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and very fragrant tiny white flowers that bloom in late winter and early spring.  It is a slow grower that will eventually reach four to six feet.  It can grow even in very deep shade and needs moderate to regular water.

Correa is a fairly low growing shrub to a little over two feet high and about eight feet wide.  It likes fast drainage and does not need a great deal of water or feeding.  Flowers are mostly pink or white.  It does well in pots and in poor, rocky soil.

This is a very low maintenance, evergreen plant that requires little water and is greatly appreciated for its deer resistance. Fragrant white flowers appear in the spring and, occasionally, again in the autumn.  The plant is fairly fast growing and can reach six to eight feet high and wide, but four to five feet is normal…

Aucuba japonica Aucuba is a foliage plant that can be very useful in the shade.  The most widely used varieties are variegated.  One of the most handsome is ‘Mr. Goldstrike’ grown by Monrovia Growers.  This evergreen plant is a slow grower, eventually reaching four to six feet.  The green-leafed version is also a very attractive plant with very…

Nandina, or heavenly bamboo, is a versatile shrub that can take sun or shade.  In our climate, it appreciates some shade in the afternoon.  Growth rate is moderate up to eight feet tall, depending on the variety.  ‘Fire Power’ is a nice small plant that only grows to about two feet high and wide and turns…

Grown strictly for its foliage, Fatsia adds a very tropical look to the shade garden.  It will have white puffy flowers in late autumn and winter, but they are not particularly showy, just interesting and unexpected.  Fatsia can take deep shade and is very suited to containers.