Seven years of extensive indoor gardening has taught me several things. First, fluorescent lights increase your electric bill more than the cost for the wattage of the bulbs. You have to remember to add about 20 extra watts for starting those bulbs! My electric bill increased about $15 a month. When I first started, I talked to our head maintenance man about the bill. He gently reminded me that one evening in a bar can easily cost that or more and I surely get more enjoyment out of plants than I would getting intoxicated--enjoyment that lasts for a full month. I stopped being concerned about electric costs at that point--after all indoor gardening is my primary recreation.
The second thing I learned was to be very creative about squeezing more plants in. The first year I gardened indoors, I had a small wood cabinet sitting in front of my south facing window. It held about 10 plants and I thought I had a good collection. A problem arose when I fell "in love" with Euphorbias--even the ones that get 3-4 ft tall inside. They had to have more space. My first solution was just to give the plant away if it got too big. However, I have acquired 2 that I simply can't part with. This year they were even too heavy to move outside for the summer. They've had to become "floor" plants rather than table top plants. One advantage of both of these plants is that they have continued to grow even when stuck in a fairly dark corner of my living room. Who could possibly part with a plant that stubborn. Just last week I found an end table dumped in the trash that was promptly salvaged, much to my son's embarrassment, to hold those floor plants. Now they get a little more sun.
Several years ago I bought a large, and rather ugly, black metal shelf unit which filled my south facing window. The top shelf received a lot of sun with the light decreasing for the lower shelves. Drapes in that window became light weight lacy things that lots of sunlight got through--even in the winter. I grew Euphorbias, assorted bromeliads, african violets and anything else I could persuade to survive the conditions. I neglected to pay attention to the fact that any plant on that stand got blasted with cold air each time I opened the back door in the winter. I've learned to keep those plants well watered even in the winter because they dry out super fast due to being practically over the hot air register.
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