Try planting garden with chocolate theme
Spring always sparks excitement and creative garden ideas. For something new, how about planting a chocolate-themed garden? Besides providing an excellent topic of conversation with admiring onlookers, chocolate gardens are a delight to the senses; perfect for those who enjoy the taste, color and smell of chocolate.
When choosing a site for your chocolate garden, be sure to locate it near a window, pathway, porch or outdoor seating area so you can relish the fragrance.
Select plants that emit a chocolate scent and/or have foliage or blooms in dark, rich, color tones. Choose shades of brown, bronze, burgundy, maroon or deep-purple to almost-black — similar in color to dark chocolate. Golden brown and bronze shades resemble milk chocolate in color. Opt for plants with complementary colors to provide contrast in the garden so the chocolate-hued plants stand out.
First, select the plants that smell like chocolate. My three favorites are chocolate flower, chocolate cosmos and chocolate mint.
n Chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata), a perennial and a wildflower native to southern central United States, smells like chocolate first thing in the morning and on sunny days. It has a yellow daisy-like flower that attracts butterflies and birds and is deer-resistant. The chocolate flower grows anywhere from 12 to 36 inches in height and needs full sun.
n Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) is a stunning, chocolaty smelling plant that is dark red-brown in color so you get the smell and color of chocolate all in one plant. It is hardy to Zones 10 and 11, so it can be grown as an annual in our region. It flowers all summer on tall stems making it great for cut flowers. Chocolate cosmos loves the summer heat so plant in direct sun. It blooms mid to late summer and fall and can grow to a height of 24 to 30 inches.
n Chocolate mint (Mentha x piperita) is an herb with a minty, chocolate fragrance. It can be a great ground cover; when planted in your garden it will soon take over. If that's not what you want, choose a chocolate colored planter to use as a focal point in your garden. Plant the chocolate mint in the planter and it will still come up every year. Along with its great smell, chocolate mint has a several other wonderful features. It tastes great, adds versatility to drinks, desserts and salads, and also aids in digestion. As an added bonus, it repels flies, mosquitoes and ants.
Now it's time to add a couple plants that will round out your garden and make those chocolate plants “pop.” I like the Heuchera “Chocolate Veil.” Chocolate Veil has dark-chocolate colored foliage with purple highlights. It likes full sun to part shade. Its relative, Heuchera “Crème Brulee,” has peachy, bronze leaves. Both can grow 16 inches in height with a 20-inch horizontal spread.
Other possible harmonizing selections could be “Sweet Hot Chocolate” daylily, “Velour Frosted Chocolate” violas, chocolate sunflowers, hollyhocks, dahlias, coleus, chocolate Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium rugosum “Chocolate”) and nasturtiums. Keep in mind, the complementary plants don't have to have chocolate in their names.
Don't neglect the “chocolate” vegetables. Although the vegetables don't taste like chocolate, they have the dark brownish color. I like chocolate cherry tomatoes. Try them with one of my favorite cool summer salad recipes. Another is sweet chocolate pepper. This mild-flavored, medium-sized pepper starts out green, but turns a deep chocolate brown as it ripens. It is a crispy pepper, a bit sweeter than a traditional bell pepper.If you have more questions about plants, call the Greenline, the Master Gardeners' telephone hotline at 724-287-4761, Ext 229.Terri's cool summer saladUse equal amounts of tomatoes and cucumbers according to how many people you will be serving. It's very simple and there are no rules. Feel free to adjust to suit your taste.Slice chocolate cherry tomatoes in half. If desired, slice and mix in yellow cherry tomatoes for contrast. Peel cucumber, slice it into half-inch slices, then cut each slice into fourths.Add your favorite crumbled cheese, like feta, and finish with chocolate mint pieces sprinkled over the salad (tear the mint, rather than cut for best flavor). Coat the salad lightly with your favorite balsamic salad dressing.The salad tastes best if eaten the same day and “dressed” right before serving.Terri Helfer is an apprentice Master Gardener expecting certification in the fall. She is the director of employee relations at Lifesteps in Butler and has an 18-year-old son. A gardener for about seven years, her plans for this year include putting in a native plant garden and enhancing her chocolate garden.
