Gardening Garden Design Garden Styles 19 Gorgeous Plants that Celebrate Your Love of Chocolate By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on February 14, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Justin Hancock If you're a fan of chocolaty sweet treats, why not add a little cocoa bliss to your garden? While growing actual cacao (the source of chocolate) outside of the tropics is tricky, plenty of other plants will let you indulge in the rich color and scent of chocolate. These varieties offer dark reddish-brown flowers and foliage or cocoa-scented blooms. 01 of 19 Chocolate Cosmos Michael Jensen With a name like chocolate cosmos, you can guess this plant will make a decadent garden addition. The burgundy-maroon flowers both look and smell like chocolaty goodness. The blooms keep coming all summer long on tall stems. Name: Cosmos atrosanguineus Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 30 inches tall and 18 inches wide Zones: 7-10, but commonly grown as an annual 02 of 19 Chocolate Flower Michael Jensen Native to North America, chocolate flower is another beautiful plant sure to tantalize your senses with its cocoa-scented blooms. The small, daisy-shape yellow blossoms appear from spring and early summer. Name: Berlandiera lyrata Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 8 inches tall and wide Zones: 7-9 03 of 19 Chocolate Vine Justin Hancock Fill the air with a chocolaty aroma by covering a wall or arbor in your garden with a chocolate vine. This easy-care climber offers purple or white chocolate-scented flowers in late spring. The hand-shape foliage lends the landscape a tropical air all summer and fall. Name: Akebia quinata Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: Climbs to 30 feet Zones: 5-9 04 of 19 Hot Cocoa Rose Edward Gohlich Though it's not chocolate scented, Hot Cocoa rose does offer fun coloring. The ruffled petals of this floribunda rose are burgundy-red with unusual brown undertones. It makes a stunning cut flower and gives off a moderate fragrance. Name: Hot Cocoa Rosa 'WEKpaltlez' Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 8 inches tall and wide Zones: 7-9 05 of 19 'Dark Chocolate' Coleus Justin Hancock 'Dark Chocolate' earned its moniker because of its foliage: The leaves are a rich dark purple color with a slight brown undertone. This gorgeous coleus also makes a terrific houseplant if you bring it inside for the winter. Name: Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Dark Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 30 inches tall and 24 inches wide Zones: Annual 06 of 19 'Chocolate Mint' Coleus Justin Hancock Add drama to your shade garden with this gorgeous coleus. It bears rich purple-red foliage edged crisply in lime green. And as a bonus, you can grow it as a houseplant during the winter months if you have a bright spot for it. Name: Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Chocolate Mint' Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 20 inches tall and 14 inches wide Zones: Annual 07 of 19 'Chocolate' Joe Pye Weed Marty Baldwin Attract butterflies to your yard with 'Chocolate' Joe Pye weed, an easy-care perennial that's a fun version of a North American native plant. Named for its purple-brown foliage, 'Chocolate' bears contrasting white flowers. Name: Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide Zones: 4-9 08 of 19 'Sweet Hot Chocolate' Daylily Michael Jensen Daylilies are among the easiest perennials to grow, so you'll definitely want to add 'Sweet Hot Chocolate' to your garden. This daylily variety bears amazing mahogany-purple flowers in summer. The blooms are edible (but sadly, they don't taste of cocoa). Another option is 'Chocolate Candy' daylily, which also has chocolaty flowers. Name: Hemerocallis 'Sweet Hot Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 24 inches tall and wide Zones: 3-10 09 of 19 'Milk Chocolate' Sedge Michael Jensen With wispy, grasslike foliage, 'Milk Chocolate' sedge makes an intriguing textural contrast in the landscape. This evergreen (everbrown?) perennial has chocolate-tan leaves that look most stunning when planted in groups. Name: Carex comans 'Milk Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 14 inches tall and 30 inches wide Zones: 7-9, but can be treated like an annual 10 of 19 'Chocolate' Sunflower Michael Jensen Big, bold, annual sunflowers are already a garden favorite. Now imagine the deep, velvety brown blooms of 'Chocolate' sunflower. This variety bears big flower heads surrounded by golden-brown petals that look especially stunning when growing among yellow sunflowers. Name: Helianthus annuus 'Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun and well-drained soil Size: To 48 inches tall and 24 inches wide Zones: Annual 11 of 19 'Chocolate Ruffles' Coralbells Michael Jensen Though the leaves on this spectacular coralbells emerge coppery in color, they quickly mature to a bold chocolaty-purple. As its name suggests, the foliage is a bit ruffled, adding a little texture to the landscape. Small, white flowers appear in late spring and early summer. Name: Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Zones: 4-9 12 of 19 'Velour Frosted Chocolate' Viola Michael Jensen Start off your chocolate garden with the rich caramel-meets-chocolate (with a purple blush) look of 'Velour Frosted Chocolate' viola. This cool-weather plant is a good choice for adding color to containers and garden beds in spring and fall. Name: Viola 'Velour Frosted Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 6 inches tall and 8 inches wide Zones: Annual 13 of 19 'Colorburst Chocolate' Calibrachoa Justin Hancock A perfect complement to chocolate cosmos, 'Colorburst Chocolate' calibrachoa bears burgundy blooms blushed with brown. This compact annual blooms all season long and makes an excellent trailing plant for containers and hanging baskets. Name: Calibrachoa 'Colorburst Chocolate' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 8 inches tall and 10 inches wide Zones: Annual 14 of 19 'Mocha' Coralbells Kindra Clineff Coffee and chocolate make a dreamy combo in drinks and desserts, and they can also be a match made in heaven in the garden. 'Mocha' coralbells features deep purple foliage that seems to get darker as the season progresses. The leaves are larger than many other coralbells, and it holds up better to heat and humidity. Name: Heuchera x villosa 'Mocha' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide Zones: 4-9 15 of 19 Chocolate Mint Scented Geranium Marty Baldwin You'll want to put this deliciously scented geranium where you can easily brush the leaves to release their refreshing minty fragrance. While the plant doesn't actually smell of chocolate, each bright green leaf is splotched with dark purplish-brown. Grow it as a summer annual or houseplant if you have a sunny window. Name: Pelargonium 'Chocolate Mint' Growing Conditions: Sun and well-drained soil Size: To 3 feet tall and wide Zones: 9-10, but usually grown as an annual 16 of 19 'Heart Attack' Sweet William Michael Jensen A perennial form of sweet William, 'Heart Attack' produces deep brownish-red flowers in spring and summer. The blooms are sweetly fragrant (more floral than cocoa, though) and make for wonderful cut flowers. Name: Dianthus barbatus 'Heart Attack' Growing Conditions: Sun and well-drained soil Size: To 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide Zones: 4-8 17 of 19 'Midnight Feelings' Phlox Michael Jensen Though it doesn't have a chocolate name, there's no mistaking the color of this perennial's brown-red bracts. These bracts are what puts on a show; they surround flower buds that curiously never open. The flowers last longer than traditional garden phlox. Name: Phlox paniculata 'Midnight Feelings' Growing Conditions: Sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide Zones: 4-8 18 of 19 Purple Four-Leaf Clover Justin Hancock A quick-growing groundcover, purple four-leaf clover bears rich chocolate-purple foliage edged in green. Curiously, most of the leaves actually do have four leaflets instead of the traditional three, so you can always feel lucky. Name: Trifolium repens 'Atropurpureum' Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 8 inches tall and 18 inches wide Zones: 4-9 19 of 19 'Intrigue' Canna Kritsada Panichgul When you need a statement plant to really draw the eye, try 'Intrigue' canna. Its tall, upright stems and large leaves are a delightful shade of brownish purple. In late summer, this canna variety has orange-red flowers, but they really take a backseat to the stunning foliage. Name: Canna 'Intrigue' Growing Conditions: Sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 7 feet tall and 2 feet wide Zones: 8-10, but can be treated like an annual or stored in a cool, frost-free place for winter Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit