Apparently a green thumb does not matter

Since my mother has been in the hospital I have been taking care of her condo.  I've gone through the mail, watered her plant, and emptied out her refrigerator.  One day Madison and I decided to take her some rice pudding, her favorite.  We were searching for a cooler, and I opened the utility closet where the hot water heater is installed.  I found this:

These are two plants that she says her sister gave her for her birthday.  They bloomed a beautiful flower the first year and then refused to bloom again so she got mad at the plants and put them in the closet.  Uh? Mother? They seem to like the darkness, especially the one in the back.