I would consider African violets, hypoestes and spider plants rainforest and basil and parsley are herbs best grown outdoors in full sun...

A MILLION TREES FOR THE AMAZON RAINFOREST My name is Macarena Rosales, and I live in Perú. I love eco-tourism. During a trip to the Peruvian Amazonia, I went to Codo del Pozuzo (Huánuco Region), and was delighted with its people and customs, and with the beauty of the Forest. I was talking to the villagers and making a kind of vivential tourism when I was informed about the sale of a piece of land which was deforestated for shepherding. I was full motivated and I intended not only to exploit and transform again that land into a small piece of lung of the Amazonia, but to give the surrounding communities the opportunity to economically take advantage of it in a conscious and ecological way. Then there will be planted trees, fruits and wood of which could immediately benefit both the environment as well as the ecosystem. This is not definitely a cheap project. I had to find out how to finance it effectively and creatively. A system generating the necessary funds to the project development without asking for donations... And I found the way:http://www.themilliontreeshomepage.com/ I would like you to join us. See you there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1uPv_yisZY Here is a link that might be useful: Million Trees homepage

I have converted my entire front yard from mostly grass to lots of herbs plus some flowers and succulents and one area where I do some vegetables. I did keep the two trees. It took me a few years but I really wasn't in a hurry and to a certain degree it's still a work in progress. At one point at the end of September I was looking at my lawnmower and was grateful that I didn't use it at all last year. I'm not really sure how many herbs are going to stand up to foot traffic. You might want to consider getting some flagstone or otherwise making some pathways. Putting your plan to paper will be helpful. I've used creeping thyme, various other thymes, sage, tarragon, summer savory, winter savory, parsley which I'll be letting go to seed this year, oregano, strawberries, chicks and hens, feverfew, chives... Unless you have nasty infestation of bindweed or quack grass I would pass on the herbicides. For an indoor grow system really all you basicly need is plastic shelving and one or more T8 4 foot shop lights. Of course you could buy fancier/pricier if you want. This is how it looked late spring of 2012.

Hi Ellie - Sorry about the name confusion - got it now! The borage would be great. The chives are also OK. I'm in California and 'locked down'. Gardening is my outside activity. I have several kinds of tomato seeds: Siberian, Black Cherry, Legend, Cherokee Purple, Purple Calabash, Coyote (Yellow Cherry), Break O'Day, & Dansk Export. We certainly can do the cucumber seeds if you wish. Let me know how to proceed. Thanks for responding so fast. TL (mvtoy123@yahoo.com)