Cordyline species grow well indoors and in air conditioned areas. I've heard that I can encourage birds into the garden by planting grevilleas and banksias. But this loses sight of the fact that there are many other birds apart from honeyeaters and there are other reasons why birds might be attracted to a particular garden. To attract a variety of birds it's a good idea to mix many different plants of different heights and growth habits so that shelter and nesting sites are available. For example, planting lots of small, bushy shrubs, including those with prickly foliage, will provide protection for smaller insect and seed eating birds, as well as for honeyeaters.
All banksias attract honey eating birds.
This is Banksia repens , a species with a prostrate growth habit. There are probably as many different propagating mixes as there are propagators. With experience, most propagators develop their own variations to suit the conditions that they have available. These days many growers are turning to the artificial peat mosses which are becoming available and which are made from such waste products as coconut fibre. Experience so far indicates that the artificial products are capable of excellent results.