Nothing brightens a cold dreary day better than a primrose, Primula x polyantha .  African violets, begonias, and a host of other flowering houseplants also provide spots of color.  Keep your flowering houseplants at their happiest with the right amount of light and humidity.

When choosing flowering plants, remember there are several types: those that bloom almost continually (such as African violets); those that bloom only at certain periods of the year but have attractive foliage throughout the year (Christmas cactus is one); those that produce large blossoms once a year and then go dormant (gloxinia and others); and the brightly colored greenhouse-produced plants, which die after blooming (calceolaria, for example).