All businesses yearn to grow to get more green but a bed and breakfast in Jackson Township is already a true plant.

Created by Debbie Plant with the help of her husband Howard, Plant's Herb Farm Bed & Breakfast is tucked away in a rural section of the county. It's not exactly the middle of nowhere but if someone is looking for seclusion this place fits the bill.

After driving down a country road and just past the Plant's farm house, visitors make a left turn up a steep gravel driveway. At the end of the driveway is the bed and breakfast --- a simple two-bedroom log cabin situated on 80 acres. A small herb garden sits next to the front porch decorated with primitive country art work.

"When they come to the top of the driveway they say, "Oh, my goodness,'' Mrs. Plant said.

She is the third generation in her family to own the property. Her grandparents, Elmer and Phobea Kite, bought it in the early 1930s and operated a farm at the site. She said her grandfather was the first Mercer County farmer to own an iron horse, the first version of a tractor.

The family stopped farming at the site in mid-century and Mrs. Plant's parents, Laura and Elmer Takash, bought the property in 1973 and rented out the homestead.

"I always wanted to live here,'' Mrs. Plant said. "I begged my father to buy it.'

Three years later her mother and father moved the family from Hubbard to the homestead. Her mother built the log cabin on a piece of the land eight years ago. Working part-time as a secretary for the Mercer Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Plant and her husband, a carpenter by trade, took over the cabin a year later.

"I was scared to death,'' Mrs. Plant recalled.

At first they rented out the cabin as permanent home to newlyweds for a couple of years, but an idea began growing in Mrs. Plant's mind. An artist who produces crafts and primitive art works, she also has cooked with herbs in her own kitchen and was looking for a place to showcase her knowledge. Mrs. Plant is the Mercer County Master Gardener Coordinator for the past six years, a University of Pennsylvania State program run out of the Mercer County 4-H Center. She also grows herbs at her home.

"I always wanted to be in business and have a gift shop,'' she said.

Opening last November, the bed and breakfast has a loft room which costs $85 a night; a hide-away room on the first floor which runs $75. Prices include a gourmet breakfast on weekends and a continental breakfast on weekdays.

Mrs. Plant figures about 65 percent of the guests are from outside the area.

"Typically the guests are upper income but we get everybody,'' she said. "We've had professors from small colleges, retired military people and an executive with Goodyear.''

The gift shop is housed in the main lobby and is filled mainly with Mrs. Plant's artwork but also features works from other crafters, as well as collectibles, antiques and herb-related products.

Classes are offered on subjects such as nutrition, hormone replacement therapy, color therapy and there's a Christmas craft show.

The bed and breakfast is open every day of the year and well-behaved kids are welcome. The store is open weekdays from 1 to 5 p.m. except Thursdays when it's closed, and from 10 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays by chance.

Address: Plant's Herb Farm Bed & Breakfast 104 S. Foster Road, Mercer, PA 16137-5424. Phone: 724-301-3273. On the Net: www.plantsherbfarm.com