With New Years safely behind us and Valentine's Day soon upon us, the season for giving sweets to the sweet is never ending. Choosing a gift with a treat is simple for gardeners.

For those who crave chocolate and can't get enough can now savor the sweetness without gaining a pound or feeling guilty. Plant a chocolate lover's garden!

When I came across some chocolate cosmos in a seed catalog (www.jungseed.com) my blood sugar rose just thinking about a chocolate garden. Not to mention a sweet idea for an article!

The fudgy flowers of the carob color cosmos are a hardy perennial to zone 6 with some protection. Blooms late only to tease your senses with a rich reward.

The chocolate flower (Berlandieva Iytata) is a irresistible daisy for those chocoholics who can't get enough, another perennial, hardy to only zone 4, it reseeds itself which makes it the gift that keeps giving..

A herbal cocoa treat is the chocolate mint, invasive as other mints, but can be tamed in a container or bed of it's own. Makes a wonderful tea, or just pick and chew on the leaves for an bitter sweet taste sensation.

For geranium fans, there is a chocolate peppermint variety Pelargonium). The aroma from these leaves are worth planting alone, smelling like a York peppermint patty! A speedy grower with a chocolate center and a scent to match.

A true chocolate lover's delight would be the Akebia Quinata, a vine with cocoa blossoms that grace the air with a vanilla fragrance. Plants are hardy to zone 5 and climb easily, perfect for a tower to guard over this sinful and semi sweet garden.

So, if your in need of a unique gift idea for your valentine this year, one that loves to garden, forget that box of chocolates, give them the fat free garden to plant, they will love you for it, and so will their hips!

© Copyright 2002 Sue Neitzel