Nursery visits during the holidays

My first stop was Dennis' 7 Dees Cedar Hills location.I wasn't looking for a Christmas tree but this Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice' caused me stop and think about it.
Love the blue foliage, but I don't need a 25ft tall conifer and the branches weren't strong enough to hold even the lightest of ornaments.
Lots of plants still in stock as we head into winter. I should note these sunny days came with very cool nights, many places dipping into the mid 20's F, my location briefly saw the high 20's (27, 28, 29) but only a few leaves have been burned by frost.
My next stop was Cornell Farms.
I guess I was still looking at alternative Christmas trees as this monkey puzzle, Araucaria araucana, looked tempting. 
A spiky Charlie Brown tree.
Oh! A manzanita (arctostaphylos) wreath would be fun.

There were even more plants tempting me here...

Eucomis blooming in late November!
Crazy fun.
Even after all the PKWs (phormium killing winter) I'm still drawn to them, especially back-lit ones like this. The feather grass and snowballs make a nice vignette.

My final stop of the day, Pomarius.
Trees and ornaments visible thru the glass greenhouse wall look very enticing.
The entrance was flanked by cut trees for sale and there was a bonfire going in an old metal wheelbarrow. Nobody does a nursery welcome quite like Pomarius.
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) on fire against that blue sky.
Yes, those ornaments were huge.
Agave goodness.
Lots of little spines.
This place is seriously photographable, on any day.
Ya, I would have liked a blue atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca' ) Christmas tree. I finally took pity on the potted speciman I'd used for years and gave it to a friend. Perhaps it's time to buy another?
Pups free with purchase!
Inside the greenhouse I admired a few houseplants like this Euphorbia  platyclada.
The ornaments look even better on this side of the glass...