What’s a Chocolate Garden All About?

A new author has joined out family. We are excited to have her. For those of you who love chocolate, we are putting together a little book of hers that will be sure to please. It is all about chocolate and not just candy, cakes and pies. Sheri Ann Richerson is a homesteader and creates the most wonderful things from

her garden and chocolate. What she brings to the table is unbelievable. So stay tuned for her release.

Her is just a bit of what to expect when her book is released.

” Introduction: What’s a chocolate garden all about?

The Chocolate Lover’s Garden

A garden of chocolate delights

         A chocolate garden? Oh yes, it’s a real thing and no, we don’t mean planting Hershey bars in the soil and hoping for a sweet harvest, although wouldn’t that be nice. A chocolate garden is a lush, sensory experience, filled with plants that look like chocolate, smell like chocolate, or even taste like chocolate. It’s indulgent, a little whimsical, and yet completely grounded in solid horticultural know-how. It’s the kind of garden that makes you pause, lean in, take a deep breath and smile.

         Whether it’s the deep mocha hues of a ‘Hot Cocoa’ rose, the velvety scent of chocolate cosmos drifting on a summer breeze, or the sheer thrill of growing your own cacao tree in a sunny corner of your greenhouse, a chocolate garden is more than a novelty it’s a celebration. It’s for romantics and foodies, passionate gardeners and curious kids. It’s for those who believe that gardens should stir the senses, delight the eye, and feed the soul sometimes literally.

          This book was born out of that belief that chocolate and gardening, two of life’s greatest pleasures, absolutely deserve to share the same space. Imagine sipping homemade chocolate mint tea in the shade of a dark-leaved beech tree or hosting a garden party where the table is lined with chocolate truffles, chocolate-colored flowers, and even a few edible surprises straight from your own backyard. Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? That’s exactly the point.

         In this book, we’ll take you on a delicious journey that starts with planting and ends with plating. You’ll learn how to grow your own cacao tree even if you don’t live in the tropics and how to create a chocolate-themed garden that’s as practical as it is beautiful. We’ll share mouthwatering recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts  and yes, a few for chocolate-infused beauty products too. You’ll uncover surprising health benefits, historical oddities, and even the environmental and ethical questions that chocolate growers and lovers alike are beginning to confront.

         Because here’s the thing while chocolate is a pleasure, it’s also a story. A story that starts in the rainforests of Central and South America, where Theobroma cacao grows wild and free. A story that stretches back to the ancient Maya and Aztecs, who revered cacao as sacred and turned its bitter seeds into rich, spicy drinks reserved for royalty and warriors. A story that includes Spanish explorers, European chocolatiers, and, yes, even slave labor and child exploitation that still exists in parts of the modern chocolate trade.

         Growing your own chocolate, whether it’s a literal cacao tree or a symbolic bed of chocolate-themed flowers—is one way to reconnect with that story. It’s a way to reclaim the joy and wonder of chocolate while honoring its origins, respecting the hands that harvest it, and bringing a bit of that tropical decadence into your everyday life.

        Pour yourself a cup of cocoa, grab your trowel, and come along with us. This is gardening as you’ve never experienced it before, delightfully decadent, soul-satisfying, and just a little bit sinful.”

Welcome to The Chocolate Lover’s Garden.”