Beginner's Plant for Peace and Harmony

[brookswm]

My wife's birthday is coming up and we just moved from a place with a lot of light where she was growing vegetables to a place with a lot less sun. I am looking for an easy to maintain plant that may help foster a feeling of peace and harmony. Being a fan of Japanese culture I was thinking a bonsai, but I thought those require a lot of close care and attention. Any thoughts and suggests would be appreciated.

[Kisal]

You're looking for indoor plants, am I correct? There are many that thrive in lower light situations, but all plants need some light.

I have a Spathiphyllum, sometimes called a peace lily, growing in my living room. Although the room has large windows, the plant is on an end table in quite dim light. Currently, it's blooming. IMO, the most difficult thing about caring for this plant is to remember that it likes moist soil. I think it would be quite difficult to overwater it, unless you kept it standing in water in a pot with no drainage holes.

I have grown African violets on the sills of north-facing windows. I have ferns and a palm tree living happily in my bathroom, which has a northern exposure.

Do you have an east or west window? Many different plants would be happy there.

Do you have space in your new place to provide supplementary lighting for plants? If so, she might be able to maintain a small garden of salad greens, and perhaps a few herbs. I have plans that I found online for one built of PVC pipe. Very simple. I plan to build one or two of them this winter. Of course, if you prefer, you could always buy one ready-made, but I've not been able to find one I considered to be sturdy enough.

[brookswm]

I am looking for an indoor plant, though the place has enough light to go without the lights on most of the day; sliding glass door, 2 windows and sky lights all in the main room. There is also a covered balcony, but compared to the front stoop in our old place there is a lot less direct light. I do keep seeing the peace lily come up and the name and idea of it appeal to me, but I am still open to other suggestions. Thank you!

[rainbowgardener]

It's hard to know what brings peace and harmony to one person may not be the same for the next. But gardenias are often grown as house plants, they have beautiful white flowers and are very fragrant.

[bonsaiboy]

The following plants I have found work well for growing indoors and are suitable for bonsai: Schefflera arboricola, Ficus retusa, Polyscias spp., Dracaena spp., Begonia spp., Coffea spp., Dizygoethica 'Castor', as well as Jades, Tamarinds, and some cycads (mostly of the genus Zamia). Philodendrons could also be used (possibly, as I have not experimented with them for long), if they become woody, such as in philodendron bipennifolium.