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December Happenings: Ballet, Sideways Agave, Pumpkins, and Snickerdoodles

Agave, AZ Plant Lady, az plant lady family, Cactus/Succulents, Shrubs
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December Happenings: Ballet, Sideways Agave, Pumpkins, and Snickerdoodles


Celebrating the Holiday Season and Family Traditions

A Journey through Downtown and a Special Ballet Performance

The holiday season is a cherished time, characterized by a delicate balance between the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations and the moments of quiet reflection that are unique to this special time of year. In this regard, I’m delighted to share that this year has brought an unusual sense of accomplishment – I’ve already completed my gift shopping, with every carefully chosen present now meticulously wrapped and arranged under the Christmas tree. Additionally, gifts bound for distant loved ones are on their way, ensuring they will arrive in time to spread the holiday cheer.

Table of Contents hide
1. Celebrating the Holiday Season and Family Traditions
1.1. A Journey through Downtown and a Special Ballet Performance
1.1.1. Seasonal Joys and Garden Delights
1.1.2. A Magical Outing to The Nutcracker
1.1.3. Exploring Downtown Phoenix
1.1.4. A Theatrical Delight in Phoenix
1.1.5. Family and Ballet Holiday Season Fun
1.1.6. Wall Garden Discoveries
1.2. Garden Visitors and Holiday Season Baking
1.2.1. The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe Ever

Seasonal Joys and Garden Delights

This early completion of the gift list is a first for me, and while it’s a welcome relief, it also carries a touch of disconcertment. It’s as though I’ve checked off everything on my to-do list so swiftly that I’m left with a nagging feeling that I may have overlooked something vital in the midst of this newfound efficiency.

Phoenix Symphony Orchestra

A Magical Outing to The Nutcracker

Last weekend, my mother treated us to an outing to The Nutcracker, by Ballet Arizona and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. 

holiday season trees and balls

We arrived a bit early, which gave us the perfect excuse to walk through the downtown area. Years ago, I worked in a tall office building as a landscape designer, but it had been a long time since I had spent any time there.

Exploring Downtown Phoenix

I was delighted to discover a tall Christmas tree in the center of an ice-skating rink – yes, there is ice-skating in downtown Phoenix.

Holiday season downtown Phoenix

Walking further on, we saw a unique use of umbrellas as art.

Interesting decorations

My younger daughters couldn’t figure out why the umbrellas were hanging upside down, but I quite liked the artistic effect.

yellow bell shrubs (Tecoma stans stans)

A row of yellow bell shrubs (Tecoma stans stans) added a welcome splash of lush green and yellow color. While you’ll see them grown as a shrub, here they are pruned into small trees. Underneath is the groundcover yellow dot (Wedelia trilobata).

A Theatrical Delight in Phoenix

inside the Phoenix Symphony Hall at Christmas

Once inside the Phoenix Symphony Hall, we admired the colorful Christmas trees. It was all quite festive, and my daughters were excited to watch their first ballet performance.

My mother and daughter, Gracie

My mother and daughter, Gracie. 

Although Gracie has autism, and many things cause her acute anxiety, she was doing very well as she had always wanted to see The Nutcracker.

My sister-in-law, daughters, and me

My sister-in-law, daughters, and me! 

Family and Ballet Holiday Season Fun

There is one thing about the performance that I haven’t mentioned yet. My cousin’s daughter is one of the dancers in this ballet. She is a ‘snowflake’ in Act 1, and a ‘wildflower’ in Act 2.

Holiday season view

This is all I can show you of the stage as photos of the performance aren’t allowed.

Family at the holiday season

It was marvelous, and everyone enjoyed themselves. After the performance, we met my cousin’s daughter at the stage door, (Gracie hoped that she would still have her costume on). She was so happy that we had come to see her performance and I was struck by the fact that all the dancing genes in the family went to her (as well as her mother) – I certainly didn’t get any 😉

Wall Garden Discoveries

chuparosa (Justicia californica), octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana), and yucca

On our way back to the car, we passed by a striking vertical garden, filled with chuparosa (Justicia californica), octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana), and yucca. Even though the chuparosa was a bit too overgrown, the overall effect was lovely.

Garden Visitors and Holiday Season Baking

Back home, things are rather quiet in the garden, with one exception:

Garden bird friends eating from a pumpkin

My Halloween pumpkins that I filled with birdseed are still creating quite a buzz with the neighborhood birds. We have had Alber’s towhees, curved bill thrashers, finches, Inca doves, and sparrows come for a visit. It’s been a real treat watching them out the kitchen window. The pumpkins will probably have to be thrown out in another week, but it’s been nice to find a way to reuse them.

The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe Ever

snickerdoodle cookies

Lastly, we’ve been busy baking cookies for upcoming holiday events as well as to give to friends and neighbors. Snickerdoodles are by far our favorite, and they are so easy to make with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

The recipe I use is an old one. I received it at my wedding shower, back in 1986, from a college friend. It has never failed me and cookies are delicious. I’ve had many requests to share it, so here it is:

Snicker doodle recipe part 1
Snicker doodle recipe part 2

*Please feel free to print it out and start your own annual Snickerdoodle cookie tradition.

December In The Garden….Sit Back And Relax

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
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https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Christmas_Agave-003.jpg 1024 679 arizonaplantlady@gmail.com https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AZ-Plant-Lady-Logo-small.jpg arizonaplantlady@gmail.com2017-12-18 13:48:072023-10-10 16:09:06December Happenings: Ballet, Sideways Agave, Pumpkins, and Snickerdoodles
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3 replies
  1. Bobby
    Bobby says:
    December 21, 2017 at 8:20 pm

    We go to the downtown ice skating rink every year! Gives us a little taste of what a real winter is like, having grown up in Colorado, and now lived in Arizona for nearly 15 years.

  2. elaine simmons
    elaine simmons says:
    December 22, 2017 at 4:06 am

    Our yellow bells bush gets tiny black specks on it the size of a pin head. Is this scale? If so, what can be done about it. They turn the leaves yellow and the leaf dies.

  3. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:
    December 30, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    Hi Elaine,

    Those dots are the ‘poop’ from tiny green caterpillars. You can treat your yellow bells by spraying them with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), which is an organic pesticide that is available at most nurseries or on Amazon. You can apply it every two weeks or whenever you see evidence of the yellow bells. I hope this helps!

Comments are closed.

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Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
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