If you don't want to use HID lighting, the next best things I know of are VHO and compact fluorescents(also called PCs). I didn't know about these types of lighting until I got into keeping corals, and most of my corals need more light than the average Vanda.
Both of these types of lights are typically sold by their Kelvin temperatures, and for plants you will want a number below 10,000K preferably a 6,700K (at least for aquatic plants).
I still use plain old 48" 40w cool white fluorescents(10,000K I believe) in a shop light. I can't see spending a couple hundred dollars on lighting and not having HIDs.
Jon