Hi, Amorton. Okay, a personal #1 beginner's and lifelong gardener's plant for sunnier areas: Salvia guarnitica, species name, but also known as "anise sage," "that blue thing," etc. Available at almost all nurseries these days because it's so wonderful. A deciduous perennial that grows up spring after spring, spreads nicely over time, but not obnoxiously, and brings continual rewards for very little effort. You can look it up and read about it. There are named selections, 'Black 'n Blue,' etc., but the species is excellent (no matter which, you'll end up sharing with visitors who want a start). It's a deciduous perennial plant, so will live on in your garden year after year, coming back each spring with nice green foliage and then spikes of little deep true-blue flowers from late spring to hard frost in the autumn. It grows about 3-4 feet over the summer. It makes a wonderful supporting player for virtually anything else in the garden and is a great favorite of hummingbirds. If you have it in your garden, you can count on a hummer moving in and defending that territory against all comers. It can be tucked behind lower plants, in front of tall ones, between still others (like behind those daylilies and alongside roses). It's virtually problem-free but, in this climate, it'll look better later in the summer if you now and then pinch off the dead flower stems (very unobtrusive if you don't) plus a few of the leaves below. That'll keep it nice and full, growing new leafy spikes up from below. Your fingers and a glass of wine or sweet tea as you stroll around after dinner are all you need for this. :)

I assume you're referring to Gynura aurantiaca? If so, no it's not at all rare, but don't let that stop you from admiring its beauty! As long as none of your critters are herbivores, no worries on that front. B est of my knowledge, its a terrestrial and does not like to dry out completely. Your biggest issues: 1) pruning will most likely be necessary (personally not a big deal to me but some folks don't like to bother with such things) 2) & this is the BIG one ... your lighting. From what you've said, it sounds like it will be totally inadequate. (One of the most surprising things to most people is the fact that just because the light seems bright to OUR eyes, that does NOT mean that the light will be bright by plant standards.) Heat lamps -- at least the ones I am familiar w/ do not produce enough lumens in the range plants require. Instead their output is typically geared for heat (obvious, I know). Your one fishtank light is unlikely to do the trick either but more info would be needed ... such as what is the wattage & lumen output, and is it the type of light used for corals? Also how far will the plant be from the light? W/out sufficient light, Gynura aurantiaca will lose its purple hairs (they're actually formed as a defense mechanism in response to high light levels to protect the foliage from sunburn) and will get weak and 'leggy' over time as it attempts to stretch towards the light.

There are actually quite a few candidates depending on the conditions you wish to provide. There are a multitude of very small to true miniatures in the orchid family. You just have a bit of research ahead of you. *For cool to intermediate temperatures: Masdevalias, Draculas, Dendrobiums, and Restrepia are some examples. *For warm temps: some mini-Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, and Epidendrums/Encyclia would be some examples.

This does depend on a number of things, not the least of which are variables like the size of your terr, the conditions you will be able to provide, and the "look" you want. Many folks, not surprisingly, want at least a few plants that will bloom. Keep in mind that such plants often will need quite a bit of light. From the foliage aspect, there are a number of neat plants that can provide you with different textures/looks. A few plant examples: African violets [note: while growing AV's in a terr is almost effortless, some people do find it difficult to get them to bloom] small "northern pines" are slow growers small variegated ivy baby tears Ferns