Hello...I am a houseplant newbie. I have been keeping aquatic gardens under high lighting for a few years now and have had a lot of success.

Anyhow, I have several terrariums now and am trying to grow healthy house plants around the setups to complement the homes of my amphibian and reptile friends. So far I have killed pretty much everything I've tried (the plants).

Here's the situation: I live in an apartment with windows only on one side of it. The room I'm keeping my plants is in the common area, which is on the opposite end of the windows. The blinds stay open but no way is that light doing a thing for any of my plants. They are much too far away. While recently purchasing some clamp lamps for my animals, I went ahead and purchased two extra ones that I keep clamped to the kitchen counter. I figured perhaps this will help me out a little in my endeavors. I purchased two CF bulbs equivelant to 100w incandescents with 6500 degrees Kelvin and 1100 lumens each. I went ahead and placed them on the same timer as my creatures use for lighting between noon and midnight. The last two weeks have proved beneficial for the one pothos that is still alive. New leaves are popping out everywhere. Also, my rubber plant is nothing but branches now, but there is a baby branch that has poked his head out of the soil and stands about six inches with one leaf and a new one in the works. The few remaining leaves are turning towards the light...which must be a sign that those lights were a good idea.

So that should let you know about my lighting. Now, the temperature in the apartment stays at around 68-70 degrees, even during the summer as me and my roommate both love the cold and despise the heat. It's tough on our wallets during the summers, but we manage.

If anyone could spare some advise on some other houseplants that could survive in these conditions, please let me know. I don't mind spending time with these plants, caring for them, strict water schedules, etc. Please give me a few choices that would perhaps be available at Pike's (there's one down the street) including a watering schedule and type of substrate.

I would really love some kind of ivy. I had tried some form of ivy but it died on me. I have another type of plant that I'm trying to health back. Too soon to tell though. I think it's called a jew something or something jew. When I got it it was purple...the few surviving stems and leaves are green. I would really like some advice on bringing that little guy back.

Crawling or creeping plants are a plus, since I would like this type of foliage to kinda hide all the cables going over the kitchen counter. I have several tanks in that area and all the cables are just unsightly. When I first got the plants they definately added a lot to that area, and I would like this to be the case again. I want the common room to be as beautiful as possible for me, the roommate, guests, and my creatures.

Thanks for reading this and thanks in advance for any advice.

:)