Look beyond tried-and-true houseplants to brighten the holidays

Poinsettias make quick decorations for your home or hostess gifts when you're visiting during the holidays.

But what if you want something a little different?

Local nurseries and mail order companies offer some festive alternatives.

Amaryllis come in several colors and even styles -- white, red, peach, pink and variegated. Check out Sumatra or La Paz for narrower petals and an old-fashioned botanical look.

Winter Jasmine is a vine with fragrant show-white flowers. It's great for a stand or hanging basket.

White Flower Farm suggests a dwarf chenille plant. The fuzzy blooms are scarlet -- perfect for the Christmas season.

And bulbs for forcing are always popular. Paperwhites are a narcissus often used for this purpose, and Planters Palette has several other varieties, too.

Christmas cactus and jade plants work, too, said Diana Stoll, horticulturist and retail manager at the Winfield nursery.

If you want to toss tradition out the window, Logee's Tropical Plants suggests a hanging bromeliad attached to a grapevine wreath.

It's red and green and only needs watering or misting weekly. But in our climate it will have to hang inside.