My kitchen is almost done. What used to be a mostly brown kitchen is now a mostly white kitchen. And I had the presence of mind to ask the contractor for a windowsill. I have 2 south facing windows side by side. There is a shallow roofed porch outside so they don't get direct sunlight but the room makes good use of all the light they get. Now I'm looking for plants. I would like something that blooms but I also like ferns. I have no luck with African violets. Any suggestions?
Marilyn in Ohio
In a kitchen: basil. Doesn't do as well there as it does outdoors in summer, but it will work.
A kitchen without a few herb plants just doesn't seem like a kitchen. I've had good luck growing basil and parsley indoors. Chives, too. Rosemary is a bit tricky, but some make it survive. Some English friends actually have a small Laurel nobilis growing.
If it's deep enough try some Thai hybrid crotons. Most of them are being grown for "table top". You aren't going to find these in Ohio, however I have several great sources in South Florida if you get down here. These crotons will have magnificent colors all year long. They don't drop leaves and they don't have messy flowers. Your window sills will look like rainbows.
The most exciting stuff I ever grew indoors were coleuses, an eight-foot wide window packed with big ones & little ones, bright purple ones & lemon-yellow ones, stripy ones & cloudy ones, leaf-starts on the front ledge furthest from light. Any that got rangy over time, clipped them back, they grew back in a trice, all the clipped bits could be started as gifts if there was room for so many little starts. The perpetually colorful leaves make them eternally colorful, like they ware all-bloom tip to base. I used to sing a song to them every morning as I opened the curtains & the curtains made the leaves wobble about, the lyrics were very simple, "Dancing plants! La lalalalalala! Dancing plants!"
If you're good with ferns you'll be great with coleuses which are easier than ferns, though in low-humidity indoor settings they need daily misting (your kitchen location helps because kitchen usually gets a couple steamy doses a day from cooking & dishwashing & making tea & coffee). I used to live in a steam-heated apartment when I had the colleus collection so they thrived even if a little neglected, but in usual low-humidity homes they need the attention similar to ferns, though not a tenth as much attention as African violets (which in any case wouldn't belong in a window, most African violets are rather deep shade plants).
For wondrous blooms I'd attempt hybrid pocketbook flowers, though I've never grown indoor types & don't know if they can be sustained over time with any ease or not, but zowy are they attractive at the houseplant store.
Nowadays nearly all my houseplants are rugged succulents. Until I bought a house & left the steam-heated environment, I had no idea how much that extra shot of humidity was responsible for my alleged green thumb with coleuses. I do not fuss about houseplants daily & have a tendency to forget to water for a couple weeks at a stretch, which to the succulents is a plus, but I'm to forgetful to have indoor ferns & coleuses these days, & sometimes plan out in my mind enclosed self-misting vivarium environment in the window where I can have coleuses again without having to tend to them lots. But I've definitely found odd sorts of care-free succulents are nice too.
-paghat the ratgirl
What a good choice, nice odor but by no means overwhelming, & can take quick clips for all sorts of cookery, no single herb is as perfect for so many dishes. Flowers no great shakes, but there are a couple of variegated-leaf & purple-leafed varieites. The most tasty do tend to be the deep greens though. There are many other things it would be great to have close to hand for cookery, but the query noted a fondness for things that flower & for African violets, & unless it's a BIG sill, might not be room for all things; if only one herb were included, basil would have to be the one.
-paghat
These are great ideas. I hadn't thought of herbs but basil, parsley, and chives are ones I definitely would use in cooking. I like crotons too. The coleus would definitely remind me when it is time to water. I have had them indoors before and plant them outdoors every year. Thanks.
Marilyn
How about achimenes? They like the same habitat as African violets but are a little more exotic looking. zemedelec
This is a new one on me. Is there a more common name?
I did get 2 primroses at Krogers. Just had to get something on that windowsill.
Marilyn
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.