Snake plant aka Mother In Laws Tongue. Small weeping fig, I never use to do well with African Violets but I finally have it down now. ALWAYS water from the bottom by putting the water into a small bowl or saucer never under or on the leaves and let it dry out between waterings.
Rosemary or any other herbs. Shamrocks. Cati.

I have a dying christmas cactus, a dying aloe and a thriving don't know what it is...like a pothos, that has survived years of abuse. Anything else I put in there the cats eat.

You might try a minature rose, they do pretty good indoors. Except at my house. I have a cat who loves roses of any size. The last bouquet of roses I had inside he ate.

I just bought this beautiful sweet basil plant at Trader Joe's yesterday which I put out on the patio since it does not like direct sun. My cats eat plants too and Kiley especially eats roses. I have roses and many other outdoor plants that I keep alive year round. I am in Arizona and we may have a day or two of frost warning where I have to cover my palm plant.

I have a set of four glass fish that are on the top shelf, placed so that you see them from the outside. The window is by my water feature (mini-pond) and since the raccoons wiped out my goldfish, this is my way of having fish in the garden. LOL.

Top left is a lipstick plant with basil on the right. I use the basil, so it's not the prettiest plant. Bottom is an african violet and then my spikey plant with polka dot plants on each side. Sorry don't know the name of the spikey plant. It is suppose to be a sun lover. Then the gardenia is in the dog planter. Next is my begonia with the hens/chicks in the pot holes. Last is a plant that lives on a rock and you just periodically pour water over it's roots. It has a dark red type shoot/flower. I've also seen them in a pink color.

The larger pots in the back have lazy susans under them. That way I can turn them and keep them growing straight.

{{!gwi}}

I would love advice too. I grew basil year round on a sunny window in Houston. I'm now in Missouri, and I haven't had much luck growing basil indoors year round here.

The orchid sounds wonderful. Why not west? Is too much sun bad? What about a south facing window?

I also have problems finding things that will grow well in my garden window ... it faces West. Now I know why my orchids didn't like it there, Thanks! But they are doing well in my East facing bay window.

I have found that succulents grow well, but sometimes too well. One quickly became a small tree, way to big for the space. So I now only have an aloe ... I need to look for other succulents.

Sadly I don't know anything about plants and my kitchen window gets no direct light. :( I was just reading up again to see if there's any I can use there and found this...

"Tips & Warnings
African violets appear to respond positively to soothing music and conversation. Speak softly with and serenade African violets to encourage them to grow."

Really, lol?

Shee- LOL but my mom used to grow, show and judge african violets and she used to talk to them and play soothing music to them! I think the soothing music works best on the gardener!

This is the first time I've had a windowsill in the kitchen that would hold a pot. :) I'm going for a few different basils, rosemary and dill. Keeping my fingers crossed that my brown thumb doesn't wreak havoc...

I can only grow one plant successfully - african violets. South east exposure. No food, and I've never watered from the bottom. My plants are never totally dried when I make rounds with the watering can. However, they just take turns blooming like mad all year long. Family and friends are a bit perplexed by my success (as am I), since I can't keep anything else alive, yet my african violets are amazing.

Nice window pic housefairy!

just saw a large african violet display at home depot this weekend and bought a couple.... our silly cat is eating the leaves of them too! very few plants that she won't eat...leaves the christmas cactus, snake plant and the large peace lily(and a couple of others)alone!! ugh...i love plants and there are few places this little kitty can't get to! and, forget about beautiful bouquets in a vase!!!
she is the absolute best cat tho--such a great personality, so i tolerate her one vice!
the christmas cactus sits in my kitchen garden window...think i will try the small leaved variety of basil there...don't think that will appeal to roxy....???

oceanna, how much sun does your window get? How much care do you want to give them?

Right now, I am trying succulents. They are turning out to ask for very little in comparison to other plants I've grown. They usually always look great and have the capacity to tolerate a little forgetfulness without looking horrible. They come in different colors and shapes and textures.

Re exposure and Phal orchids - they dry too fast, get too hot, and generally dislike intense west exposure. These orchids like gentle filtered light (east and south best), hold up well under normal household temps and humidity, and like to dry between watering. One of their favorite habitats is in a bathroom because of the burst of humidity (I have built a big surround on my new tub to hold plenty of these beauties). They can be encouraged to bloom by a couple of nights outside in 50 degree temps. Here are a few pics to remind you that you probably already know this orchid.

I love my Phals and it is wonderful to have a plant that I can tell everyone is my favorite gift. They can be purchased at so many places for a reasonable price. I am at the stage in life where I pretty much have what I want and need, so I want the kids and friends to know of a gift that I always appreciate.

O, I hope you come back soon and tell us what type of light the window gets.

If it were me, I'd copycat housefairy's window along with the knick knacks she has sitting there. lol.

One thing I do know, instead of using regular flower pots, get some decorative planters like housefairy has. There are a lot of pretty and inexpensive one's on ebay. Sometimes you have to drill a hole in the bottom.

I have 7 African violets and only one will bloom. No clue why. All are under lights, though.

And I used to water from the bottom but got too lazy and now do it from the top, very gently though.

Pam I have one of those orchids in my sunroom, but not right in the window. When I bought mine, it said INDIRECT light and also to water it once a week using 3 ice cubes. Do you ever fertilize yours? Mine is a beautiful creamy white.

To answer the OP, I have herbs in my kitchen window. It's not a garden window, just a regular window with a nice deep will. I also have one violet in there - I've recently given most of my african violets away. I kind of take them in spells, then get tired of them.

tina

tina
I am the laziest successful orchidist I know :-)
I fertilize every 4 - 6 weeks (not small amounts weekly as recommended).
Yes, indirect light is the ticket, but eastern light has worked fine for me, too.
Watering- if it is in a plastic pot, I water heavily (til lots of water drains through for 20-30 seconds). If it is in a clay pot I water longer. I only water when it's dry (guage by pot weight).
I have never tried the ice cube thing, though I have heard of it. When they are in bloom I would want a lot more water than the few cubes to avoid bloom drop. My longest lasting blooms on the indoor Phals were 4 months! What's not to love with that?

Thanks Pam!

The 3 ice cubes seems to be working as I have not had any bloom droop (knock on wood!). Mine is in a plastic pot inside of a clay pot. Yes, these blooms have lasted quite a long time so far and I have some new little "stalks" coming out which I assume will produce more blooms! They do seem easy - thanks for the fertilizer info.

tina

Prairiemoon, I don't think it gets a lot. Plants tend to get a bit leggy there. I also tend to get a little forgetful about watering, I'm afraid. If they needed it daily, I'd remember, but since they don't, it's easy to forget them. What I have right now has put up with my habits for a long time, though.

Pam, the orchid is gorgeous, thanks for the picture! I've never tried growing one.

Oceanna, I sure you noticed the glass globes in the pics. I use those for most of my watering needs. When I leave for vacation I actually take the small plastic water or tea bottles, drill a hole in the top and invert them for extra water. Every once in a while I put a drop of fertilizer in the globe. I had an orchid that was doing wonderfully until the hot weather finally hit (about July this year) and burned it's leaves. So it's a no go for my garden window location. However, they are all flowering, even the begonia, so they seem to love their location and the mix of water/nutrients.

So you might try the globes. That's the only thing I use on the african violet. The lipstick plant is voracious in it's need for water, so I end up supplementing. I have the globes in two different lengths. So size the stem to the pot you plan to use. Also, I don't know if the short and longer versions are made by the same manufacturer.

Thanks, Housefairy. Yes I had wondered about the globes and figured they must be for watering. Where can I buy them? Maybe I'll even get brave and try another AV if I can find some globes.

I bought them at Home Depot. However, the long ones are the globes they run as TV ads. So I've seen them at stores like Walgreens. You can also google water globes. What I like is there is the visual to see when the plant needs water. What's interesting is the violet can go all week on a "globe" of water. Needless to say I would have overwatered that plant. I want to get a couple more so I can put doubles in my bigger pots. Just make sure and make a hole with a pencil or whatever when you insert them the first time. They are thin glass and wouldn't stand up to a lot of abuse.

I don't keep plants in the house except for an orchid and ferns in the winter. But my grandma always had african violets, but you say you have no luck. How about paperwhites near Christmas?