For easy-to-grow color you just can’t beat African Violets. They bloom and bloom and bloom some more. They come in a wide range of colors.
The one and only trick is to keep them in African violet containers and water the outside of the container so that the plant remains evenly moist.
Here’s what I’m talking about
[QUOTE=Long Time First Time]
For easy-to-grow color you just can’t beat African Violets. They bloom and bloom and bloom some more. They come in a wide range of colors.
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Argh! What is it with you people?
I have killed every African Violet I come in contact with. My mom had one that lived happily wherever she put it for years. Then I brought it home and it promptly started dying. I asked advice everywhere I could - and followed it - I tried every conceivable solution and the damn thing wouldn’t stop trying to dye. Finally it succeeded.
I love African Violets too much to ever try to keep one again. The damn things hate me.
Yeah, I can’t grow the damn things either.
Do you like to cook? You could grow yourself some herbs too. They are pretty and they smell good. I like the one on the left at this site.
At the moment I have 3 African violets blooming on the table next to my desk.
I doubt any of the 3 are less than 10 years old.
None of them have ever been watered from the bottom.
They are also way simple to propagate.
Like I said, what works for other folks may or may not work for you.
Me, my taste runs to plants that are willing to accept the particular kind of abuse I hand out, as well as the specific micro-climate in which I place them.
My latest casualty was a (gift) cactus!
I’m sorry to hear that. Violet killer. 
I think I must have gotten my violet-fu from my mom. She’s got probably 15 of the things, and they’re amazing. I just do what she told me to do. Don’t put them in a place where they’ll get too hot, and water from the bottom (even though Dinsdale says you don’t hafta). My east window works well, and my mom keeps some of hers in a north-facing window. She does have some near one of her south-facing windows, but not directly in them.
(hangs head in shame) my name is Tastes of Chocolate, and I’m a plant killer.
I’ve found that at home, I forget to water plants. I seem to think about it as I’m heading out the door to do something else. For me, bigger plants work better. They can last longer between watering without turning into tumbleweed and blowing away. Also, many small plants are actually in pretty bad soil when you buy them. Just repotting them, with a good potting mix, into a little larger pot increases their chance of survival.
It’s pretty plain, but I second the spider plant. Easy to get one, hard to kill. There’s one sitting next to me at the office right now!
Re: violets - grow them at the office. They just love the flourescents! I never had any luck with them at home, but my office plant blooms all the time and is very happy.
Diffenbachia is nicknamed dumb cane for a reason, while it is a pretty plant with many varieties, care must be taken when handling the plant. The juice is toxic and causes the inner mouth, tongue and throat membranes to swell. It’s important to wash your hands carefully after transplanting, pinching dead leaves, or dividing the plant. Children and animals need to be watched closely to avoid accidental poisoning.
The trick to getting Christmas/Thanksgiving/Easter cactus to bloom is once the plant beging to set it’s buds (tiny balls on the tips of the segments) do not change the position of it’s light source. If you do, the buds will try to follow the light, causing them to drop.
Fibrous begonias are nice, some have flowers, others have striking foliage. In my experience coleus has always been an indoor plant. It comes in a wild variety of colors, patterns and leaf types. Keep the tips pinched in order to keep them bushy, do not let them dry out. They will recover from a dry out, but they will drop a lot of leaves. Dracena comes in many types and is super easy to grow, no direct sunlight and don’t place too close to any heat source. Ivy also comes in many varieties and is nigh unto indestructible. The variagated types need direct sun in order to keep the color, and any leaves which emerge as solid need to be pinched off, but it is a hardy plant. Ficus benjamina (weeping fig) is one of my favorites, I have one I bought as a 6" baby when my daughter was due to be born, and 16 years later it is a small tree as tall as she is. Spider plants and pothos are also favorites. Persian violet is a pretty plant with small flowers resembling violets on it, pinch off spent blooms and it will continue to bloom for a very long time. I don’t have my plant book at hand and I am not remembering some scientific names, but the polka dot plant is similar to the coleus, it likes direct light, moist soil, keep it pinched to make it bushy, and it comes in white/pink/and red dots.
I also agree with all the other’s suggestions, with the disclaimer that I cannot grow orchids. My mom can, though, so it can be done!
I love my plants, inside and out, and wish you well on your future indoor jungle.