Plants That Smell Like Chocolate

Annuals And Tropicals

• Centaurea moschata, orchid Sharry Baby and Gilia tricolor produce flowers that emit a rich, chocolate scent. Orchid Sharry Baby will flower indoors or out. Scented geranium Chocolate Joy and scented geranium Chocolate are grown for their chocolate-scented foliage. Although they do flower, the flowers are insignificant. Sharry Baby and the scented geraniums will overwinter indoors, allowing you to continue to enjoy the chocolate fragrance they produce. Centaurea moschata and Gilia tricolor are easily grown from seed every spring. An annual plant is one that grows, flowers, sets seed and dies in one season. A tropical plant may be grown as an annual but will often survive the winter indoors in colder climates.

Perennials

• Chocolate daisy, Jerusalem artichoke, chocolate mint and chocolate cosmos are ideal choices for adding a chocolate scent to the perennial garden. Chocolate daisy has daisy-like yellow flower petals with a chocolate brown center. The flowers attract butterflies and birds. Encourage continual blooms by deadheading, or cutting off, the faded flowers. Jerusalem artichoke grows from edible underground tubers. In late summer, sunflower-like flowers open, filling the air with a chocolate fragrance. This plant multiplies rapidly, so plant it in an area of the garden where it can spread. Chocolate mint produces a delicious chocolate mint scent, especially when the leaves are rubbed or brushed against. Mint is invasive, so grow this plant in a pot or plant it in an area where its growth is easy to control. Chocolate cosmos grows just like the annual varieties of cosmos, although this one is a perennial. The dark brown, almost black flowers emit a wonderful chocolate fragrance. A perennial is a plant that comes back from its own root system year after year.

Vines

• Expand your garden vertically and add the delightful fragrance of chocolate-scented flowers by planting Clematis Montana or chocolate vine. Clematis Montana produces masses of pink blooms in mid-spring. Keep this vine cut back to keep the flowers within eye level. It is a rapid-growing vine that will quickly scramble up trees or whatever else it can climb on. Chocolate vine flowers in early spring, producing masses of purple or white flowers that emit a faint chocolate scent. Grow two varieties and this plant will produce edible fruit.

Shrubs

• The flowers of Azara microphylla as well as the flowers of Rhodendron "Bill Massey" emit a chocolate scent. Shrubs are ideal for creating the bones of the garden. Position shrubs so they act like a backdrop in the garden, protecting other plants, but plant them close enough to areas that you frequent so you can enjoy their scent. The vibrant yellow flowers of Azara are highly fragrant, so grow this one downwind from a window in your home to make the chocolate fragrance even easier to enjoy, day or night.