cocoa

We used to fill the planters in the front yard near the driveway with cocoa bean mulch. For the first few weeks after laying a new layer, the smell was heavenly. It also made the planters' various inhabitants, shrub and weed alike, grow happily.

The mulch came in big burlap bags that said »product of cote d'ivoire« on the side. The best part was that out of every three or four burlap bags, one contained the dried-up husk on an enormous tarantula.