Bill, you haven't any idea how bright the window gets? Since it's frosted, the frosting will block a good amount of rays..Flowering/fragrant plants need sun, some direct. You know?
How about Plectranthus (swedish ivy)? Its leaves are fragrant and it doesn't require a ton of light. They come in both green and variegated. You can find some at www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com I shop there quite a bit.
There's a few hoyas that produce fragrant flowers (when they decide to flower) that might do well in your bathroom. Toni

Hoyas are a great bet, as are some begonias that are fragrant (check Kartuz or Logee's on the web for selections). A jasmine sambac would also be happy, but may not bloom year round.

Jim

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH.
I never knew about any of these three sites, being a rank beginner. Now all I need is an apartment three times the size and a couple of grand for plants.

Seriously, I'm really happy with this.

Two questions:
How bright does the window get? I don't know. How do you quantify this? A lightmeter?
Re: Logee's -- can I realllllly grow Meyer lemon and black pepper indoors? How great.

Bill

Hey Bill,
Yep, one way to tell how much light your windows put out is by using a light meter which are sold for 20,00+. My gadgets, (mainly used to test pH) are manufactured by Rapitest...They have an online store or you can check out other nurseries selling supplies.

Bill, you'd be surprised the number of plants that will fit in a small appartment..before moving where I live now, I had an appt with 3 large windows and two, tweeny-weeny windows, facing north, mind you..LOL
Still, I had about 75 plants..Lower light plants were placed in the background, and I set up lights for sun-loving plants..
Yep, you can definatly grow citrus indoors..I live in IL, and have over 30 citrus trees..3 dwarfs, the rest standards.
If you have a south or west facing window, use a humidifer in winter, you're basically set..Of course there are things you have to learn like, well, the main thing is where to purchase citrus. 98% of mine came from Fl..right now there's a ban because of a disease called Canker so citrus can't be shipped, yet.
Unless you go to Logee's Nursery, I wouldn't order a citrus from them. I did once..what I got was a 2" plant that died that week. Believe me, it looked nothing like the picture..
Also, when you buy a citrus, you want one that's grafted..Not a seedling, like I believe, Logee's sells. Grafted citrus fruit at 1-2 yrs old whereas seedlings can take 7-14 yrs..(if they make it)
There are other things to learn, but if/when you ever decide to buy a citrus, just say so..
I have an Ornamental black pepper plant growing..is that the same black pepper plant you're referring to? It's color is purple and silver..Toni

I'm going to repeat what I wrote in another forum: this is the nicest, most informative, least attitudinal group of folks I've ever encountered on the Internet. Thank you all. Can't wait to get moving along.

I saw the pepper plant on a website which I have bookmarked at work; the description said that it was edible pepper, which I know from my years as a chef as _Piper_ _nigrum_ (no way to do underscores or itals here, I guess). Somehow the idea of growing pepper and lemons just rocks my world.

wm., gratefully

Hi Bill..Yep, the majority of ppl on Gw are very nice, helpful and easy to talk to.

I know which Piper you mean..leaves are all green. Though I don't have the faintest idea how one makes black peper from the plant..LOL..I'm sure someone here knows, and/or info on the net.
Actually, the only place I've seen Piper nigrum growing was in a conservatory..never saw the real thing for sale, but I'm sure it can be found. Though I would think it needs a good amount of humiidty. And a certain amount of light..Like I said, I have an ornamental Piper which is grown mainly for leaf color..Purple and silver..
Yep, you can grow lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, etc. There's numerous varieties. Some are more difficult than others..I have trouble growing grapefruit. I think they need longer summers so fruit can fully mature and here in IL, we just don't get it. Kumquats are really easy growing and develop tons of fruit..Some day you'll have to give it a try.
Have you ever grown a banana tree? Toni

Banana tree? Now that would truly amaze me.
This all makes me think of a book called _The Apartment Gardener_ by Stan & Floss Dworkin. They paraphrase a conversation in which a tyro asks a nurseryman if her date palm will ever bear fruit; he answers that of course it will. When it gets to be 40' tall and meets a mature palm of the opposite sex.
The Piper nigrum is in the Logee's catalogue. Of course, now I'm loath to order from them based on your experience. Here's a useful intro to the world of Piper:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper

Thanks again.

Not to stir the pot--just trying to spice things up a bit (ar ar)--but I have a friend who grows vanilla orchid in a similar situation. You'd get fragrance *and* the culinary qualities, but I guess it has to grow extremely tall before flowering.

Also, I once had a sansevieria on my tub with the same kind of light situation. Had it there for decorative purposes, but that was how I found out they bloom, and with fragrant flowers no less. One of those great surprises in life. It loved that softly filtered light.

Good idea with the sanseveria, mare2; they should do fine, and there are a bunch of species and hybrids beyond the typical flower store types, glasshouse works has a good collection.

I would give up on vanilla vines unless you have a glasshouse of your own, they need a ton of space to reach flowering size, but the real kicker is the flowers have no fragrance! The vanilla odor only develops in the seed pods after they're dried.

However, a number of mini orchids would do fine in the bathroom as well, and give great fragrances: check out neofinetia falcata, sedirea japonica, and their hybrids, as well as fragrant mini-cattleyas (mini-catts).

Jim

Thanks for the heads up on the vanilla orchid, Jimshy. That's a good lesson on secondhand information! I thought the flower was supposed to be fragrant, but being a serial orchid murderer, I guess I never give them the chance.

I agree with Toni about the citrus. A Meyer Lemon would probably do very well and blooms throughout much of the year. I don't think you want Piper nigrum as a houseplant. It needs a good amount of sun and gets very big. I have a couple vines and have to cut them back to get them inside for the winter. The pepper corns are produced on little stalks and take a long time to mature (at least mine do). Some of the jasmines or even a gardenia might do well if it's bright enough. Personally I think Logees is terribly overpriced for what you get. I like Kartuz for small plants and Gardino Nursery and Zone 9 Tropicals for larger plants. I like Four Winds for citrus. Good luck with your bathroom garden.
Karyn
http://www.rareflora.com/index.htm
http://www.kartuz.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?
http://www.zone9tropicals.com/index.php
https://ssl4.westserver.net/fourwindsgrowers.com/secure/consumer/

Sorry that I'm just getting to this. Been busy trying to rectify some typical newbie errors and fighting a small infestation of what I think are spider mites. But my main effort is to develop an overall plan for my apartment. It seems obvious to me that given the problems with growing in apartments, I'll do best by group the plants with similar needs. So I'm trying to figure that out, and also determine at what point my better half is going to realize that I'm turning the joint into a jungle.

Meyer lemons, however, are at the top of the list. And I'm thinking about jasmine.

I agree about vanilla. Still curious about Piper nigrum and bamboo, as well as herbs, chiles and tomatoes.

Stay tuned.

wm.

" Bill, you haven't any idea how bright the window gets? Since it's frosted, the frosting will block a good amount of rays..Flowering/fragrant plants need sun, some direct. You know?
How about Plectranthus (swedish ivy)? Its leaves are fragrant and it doesn't require a ton of light. They come in both green and variegated. You can find some at www.lafairetradinggroup.com shower panel I shop there quite a bit.
There's a few hoyas that produce fragrant flowers (when they decide to flower) that might do well in your bathroom." Shower panel

Here is a link that might be useful: Here is what I mean, Shower Panel