As a plant that grows easily outdoors anywhere in the US, iris will make very poor houseplants. Indoor conditions do not come close to replicating what they need in terms of sunlight, natural seasonal temperature swings and humidity. And the same can be said for virtually any outdoor plant you try to bring in and grow indoors. It will never be a long term situation for them.

Ohhh, that makes sense- I'll keep that in mind going forward when selecting plants. That also explains why my sunflower plant died very quickly. Thank you so much, this is very helpful!

You might be able to grow some of the very early spring iris like I reticulata or I danfordiae. You’d need to look into the technique of forcing bulbs. It isn't just a matter of planting them in ordinary indoor conditions.

Essentially, your gardening life will be really restricted if you won’t go outside. I think that you need to work on the bee thing because it’s going to really affect your ability to enjoy your new interest. I’m assuming you go outdoors sometimes? Gardening isn’t going to provoke bees any more than simply walking through a park. In many decades of gardening and plant watching I’ve never been stung by a bee.