From its greenhouse brimming with colorful foliage and its garden store that trades in hard-to-find flowers, to its rustic barns that share space with fragrant blooms in the scenic foothills of Ohio's Appalachia, the GoodSeed Farm Country Garden Center & Nursery is one big, loving tribute to Mother Nature.

No wonder they pull out all the stops on Mother's Day.

The holiday already marks a special milestone for owners Steve and Marjorie Boehme: It was during this time a decade ago that their dream of opening a garden center became a reality on 158 pastoral acres in Peebles.

But the couple has also made sure that May is memorable for the many green-thumb moms who visit GoodSeed. In addition to the Country Garden Mother's Day Festival, May 11–13, which features live music, barbecue and an array of arts and crafts demonstrations, the first 1,000 moms who arrive this year will receive a free weeping willow sapling - yet another treasure to add to the trove of complimentary perennials and trees GoodSeed has given as gifts on past Mother's Days.

"People love it," says Steve. "We have mothers who came the first year, and each year [they've gotten] a different plant. They'll tell us, 'I planted that dogwood, and now it's 6 feet tall.'"

Each year, the crowd of families and gardening enthusiasts who flock to the festival gets bigger and bigger, eager to celebrate both motherhood and the start of the spring growing season. But just as alluring as the festivities and the free sapling are the grounds. Visitors make their way down winding country roads in this part of southwest Ohio's Amish Country to spend a fun day in the great outdoors on GoodSeed's acreage, which is home to more than 60 species of birds, features the only double-quilt pattern on the Adams County Barn Murals Tour, and is crisscrossed with trails.

GoodSeed Farm is located at 200 Storer Rd. in Peebles. For more information on the Mother's Day weekend festivities, call 937/587-7021 or visit www.goodseedfarm.com.