These holiday flowers are great for gift-giving

The countdown to Christmas has begun. Over the next week or two, many of us will be attending celebrations with friends and family. When I was growing up, it was very common to always take a small gift whenever you were invited to someone’s home. From my experience, this is another tradition that has been slowly fading away over the years. In my opinion, we should all work to make gift-giving a little more common.

No matter what time of the year it is, flowers are a great gift of appreciation for an invitation. Most of the time when we are invited to a home, it is usually for a celebration. Flowers are festive and will brighten any room. They are great for the celebration.

There are more floral choices than you would think for this season of holidays. Here are some suggestions. Some you will know and maybe a few others that might be new.

We can start with the most popular: the poinsettia. Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were known as flor de nochebuena which translates to "The Christmas Eve Flower." In Mexico, they grow in the wild as shrubs. In 1825 the United States' first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, discovered them and brought them back to his home state of South Carolina. This is where the tradition began in the U.S. Poinsett was a skilled botanist and began propagating them and growing them commercially in greenhouses.

When giving a poinsettia, advise the recipient to place them where they will receive good light. Tell them to keep them away from a heat source. Most importantly, tell them not to overwater them. Keep them moist but not wet.

Christmas cactuses are also great for giving. After they are done blooming they make great indoor plants because they are easy to care for. These plants can live for years and have been handed down as gifts in families from one generation to the next.

Cyclamens are also great holiday flowers. They are prolific bloomers in shades of white, pink and red. The blooms are bright and colorful. They can also be used as houseplants, but are a bit more challenging to maintain. They need to be kept cool and away from direct sunlight. They will eventually go dormant.

Cyclamens grow from tubers. Once the plant goes dormant you can remove the tuber from the soil. Then, in the spring, it can be replanted in a pot to grow outside.

Amaryllis and paperwhites are bulbs that are forced so they bloom indoors in the winter. You can also find hyacinths prepared to bloom indoors. During this season, you can find these bulbs already growing and in bloom. You can also buy the bulbs so you can watch them grow and bloom into the winter.

Amaryllis have large flowers that are very stunning to see indoors. Paperwhites are in the family with daffodils. They are great for adding indoor fragrance, as are the hyacinths.

Another great plant to give as a gift is a "rosemary tree." These are the herb rosemary plants that are grown and shaped to look like small Christmas trees. You may find them with decorations, or you can add your own. After the holidays you can use the rosemary in your cooking.

You might also be able to find what is called the "Christmas rose." These are the hardy perennial Helleborus. The common name for Helleborus is "Lenten rose." The Christmas rose is the same plant that has been forced to bloom a couple of months early. If you get one of these, they can be planted in your perennial garden in the spring.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: These holiday flowers make great Christmas presents