15 Best Indoor Plants for a Lively and Lush Windowsill Garden

Tradescantias are indoor plants that thrive in a range of different environments.

Displaying distinctive purple-and-green striped leaves, this plant is happy in both direct and low-light areas — although you may want to gently transition it from one spot to another if you decide to move it to a drastically different light setting. Also, it only needs watering about once a week, when the soil feels completely dry.

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Money trees have distinctive twisted trunks and lots of feathery green leaves. This indoor plant is a good one to place by a bathroom window with indirect light, as it thrives in warm, humid indoor climates, and only needs a little water (not a drenching) about every 10 days.

You can even encourage growth by repotting your plant every 2 years into a larger container so that its roots have more room.

If you're the parent of both plants and pets, opt for greens that are safe for your fur babies to be around.

This duo of indoor plants from Bloomscape consists of a money tree and a ponytail palm. Both of them are nontoxic and can go a week or longer between waterings. Just opt for a low-light environment for the money tree and somewhere a little sunnier for the potted palm.

Pothos plants are fast-growing, resilient greens that are fun to care for because they’re always changing. When placed in indirect light, they only need to be watered about once a week, and they can grow to be incredibly long and vine-y.

I’ve owned this exact pothos planter from UrbanStems for over 6 months and it’s become one of my favorite plants. It has a lush layer of moss just at the surface of the planter that acts as a sponge for excess water. No matter what the temperature or light conditions are in my apartment each season, it looks happy and healthy on my south-facing windowsill.

The Click & Grow Smart Garden 3 is a great gardening solution for anyone who loves growing edible plants and herbs, but may not have the time to monitor them closely each day.

If you've ever used a pod coffee maker, this plug-in planter is very similar. Its seeds and soil come in the form of capsules, which you can simply insert into the unit. And its included LED lighting system means that you don't have to clear your windowsills to make room for it. Keep the bottom chamber filled with water, and watch your progress via the app each day.

Oh, and basil is far from the only option: Click & Grow has a huge seed library.

Once you've mastered regrowing your scallion scraps, try some more plant propagation on for size. This gift-worthy set from includes a wooden base with three glass bulb propagation vases.

When your vine-y plant needs a haircut, just snip it at the node and place it in one of the water-filled vases: You might start to see roots form within days.

You may be most familiar with the fiddle-leaf fig in its towering, very trendy tree form. But even though this one is tabletop-sized, it can be trained to grow taller if repotted and pruned appropriately, so that the roots can grow.

This tropical plant likes warmth and humidity, so keep it in a sunny spot and make sure the top inch of soil stays moist. It's also a good idea to rotate it every few weeks, especially if you notice the plant leaning one way or another — or if you see that some of the leaves are changing color.

If you live in a super sunny space, your place was made for a bird of paradise plant. These indoor plants thrive in warm climates, and they can grow to be up to 5 feet tall. They only require about one watering per week to stay vibrant and happy.

Want to hit snooze on your plant-caretaking responsibilities? Get yourself a ZZ plant. This leafy, long-stemmed indoor plant is incredibly hardy, as it's able to thrive in low light conditions without frequent watering.

However, if you have pets, you may want to consider something else. ZZ plants’ leaves contain an irritant that can be toxic if ingested.

Surely you're acquainted with these little guys! Echeveria succulents are petite plants that display rose-like blooms, and they can be repotted with others in a single planter.

They only need minimal water to thrive, but that doesn't mean you should shirk caring for them completely. Just make sure they get proper drainage so that their roots don't rot.

Snake plants are known for their stunningly variegated, sword-like leaves. They like direct — but not intense — sunlight, so they're perfect for keeping by a window at home or in an office. Just water them once a week, and occasionally dust off their leaves so that they stay happy on your sill.

Studies have also shown that these indoor plants have air-purifying properties, even if the total amount of CO2 they remove is very minimal. (You're better off getting an air purifier with a HEPA filter.)

Bamboo is as hardy as it is low-maintenance, and with proper care, it'll continue to grow and proliferate for years.

This sculptural indoor plant comes in a rock-filled planter that prevents its roots from spreading and growing too much. It also loves hydration — all you need to do is keep an inch of water in the planter at all times, and it'll be happy.

Air plants come in many different colors and sizes, and they're unique in that they aren't planted in soil. Arrange them inside of a terrarium or any decorative container to add a little low-maintenance greenery to your workspace.

About once a month, soak your air plants in water for 10 minutes to rehydrate, and then let them completely dry out in a sunny spot before returning them to their planters.

Native to desert climates, aloe vera plants thrive in indirect sun and dry atmospheres, and they only need to be watered about once a week. When it's robust and green, this indoor plant is at its happiest. Any paleness usually indicates that it needs to be moved into or out of the sunlight.

It has skin-soothing properties, too. In case of a small kitchen burn, just break off the tip of the plant and rub its cooling goop onto your skin for quick relief.

Bonsai is an ancient botanical art form that originated in China before Zen Buddhists brought the practice to Japan. It involves training a tree or shrub to grow in a miniature form of itself.

While there are different types of bonsai trees, the juniper bonsai is a great one to start with, since the shrub is resilient and fairly easy to shape with wire. While it does require direct sunlight, it only needs to be watered when its soil feels completely dry.