It was an especially fragrant bouquet of roses on my dining table this week that got me thinking about what an incredible thing our sense of smell is. It’s the only sense that has a direct connection to our brains. We can detect at least a trillion distinct scents. Our scent cells are renewed every 30 to 60 days. Some of the most pleasurable scents, according to recent research, include vanilla, some orange scents, cinnamon, crayons and cookies. I don’t have any crayon or cookie scented flowers but wouldn’t that be a great addition in the garden?
 Scotts Village, a prominent neighborhood shopping center in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County), California, has sold to a Northern California-based real estate firm for $15.35 million. Anchored by Safeway and CVS, the shopping center comprises 121,296 square feet (sf) of retail improvements including several high-profile pad buildings occupied by Chase Bank, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell. Scotts Village was developed in 1984 on a leasehold interest.
A project to construct sidewalks, curb ramps, driveways and retaining walls on Highway 9 between Graham Hill Road and the San Lorenzo Valley schools...