SA's first Chocolate Garden is choc-full of fragrant surprises

I regret two things about my visit recently to The Chocolate Garden at de Charmoy Estate in the cane fields of Verulam, near Durban.

The first is that I did not take along a book. For though the chocolate-themed eatery is sold as a good place to lunch out with the family - and it is - it is the perfect place to take a book. It is based on one, for starters - an eponymous romance by Ava Miles.

And though the name might bring to mind fantastical Willy Wonka-esque concoctions of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory variety, the place itself is a gentler, more refined reality.

It is named for the varieties of chocolate-scented - and chocolate-coloured - plants which have been carefully sourced and planted by the estate's managing director, Lauren Machanick.

Inspired by a book she read while holidaying, she found herself taken with the notion of the garden the book's heroine decides to create for a special person. So she roped in the talents of garden design expert Lindsay Gray to make one in real life.

"The lady I got to do the design of the garden was so excited to get to work with a theme. Usually, garden design work involves a lot of repetition," says Machanick.

After researching and narrowing down a list of non-invasive plants, they began planting in August this year. There are fledgling chocolate sunflower plants, chocolate mielie, a sweet-scented pelargonium which smells like Turkish delight. She's looking to add chocolate (coloured, not scented) lettuce, as well as a chocolate vine to the mix.

"A lot of the flowers that I would have loved to grow unfortunately don't work in our tropical environment. In winter we'll have chocolate-scented orchids blooming - when they are in full bloom you'll be able to smell the chocolate," says Machanick.

"Gardening for me was such a chore but now I've become a plant nerd."

Naming creatures and creations after books seems to be a quirk of hers. One of the estate's three resident giant tortoises is named Esio - for the Roald Dahl book Esio Trot. Children will love them, as well as the rabbits, guinea pigs and geese that form part of the whole de Charmoy experience.

Bookish types, besides being tickled by the literary inspirations (and if you're as lucky as I was, the chance to chat to someone who loves books), will find little nooks and islands amid the flora heaven to read in.

When the wind blows it carries the different scents on it - some are sharp, startling. Others subtle. I'm not yet sure whether I smelled actual hot chocolate at one point.

Try the fragrant chocolate toasties when you're there - ciabatta with real chocolate, mascarpone and marshmallow. It's not as intense as you might imagine. It is in fact delicious.

I mentioned two regrets when I began. The second is that I couldn't linger longer.

• Visit The Chocolate Garden, de Charmoy Estate, Robert Armstrong Road, Verulam, Durban. Call 032-533-8187.

• This article was originally published in The Times.