MARYSVILLE, Ohio, April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Earth Day, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is proudly lending support to community gardening efforts in its home of Central Ohio, while also reminding homeowners everywhere about the environmental benefits of lawns and gardens.

On Saturday, April 23, at Earth Day festivities at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus on the grounds of the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, ScottsMiracle-Gro will announce its support of a major central Ohio community gardens grant program. Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Council Member Priscilla Tyson and the Franklin County Commissioners, through The Columbus Foundation, established the grant program to support existing community gardens and encourage the creation of new ones.

"We are excited to partner with our local governments in their efforts to encourage more community gardens. Nationwide, there are more than one million community gardens, and the participation in this activity grows every year. We are pleased to provide ScottsMiracle-Gro products to these central Ohio grant recipients to help them be successful with their gardening projects," said Jim King, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs, for ScottsMiracle-Gro. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus is a seven-acre living classroom for horticulture, environmental education and community gardening best practices.

In addition, this year, ScottsMiracle-Gro supported community gardening by awarding financial grants to 100 organizations across the U.S. and plans to install five showcase gardens in Tampa, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.  These activities are part of the Company's GRO1000 initiative to create or support 1,000 gardens in the next several years.

Lawns and a Healthy Environment

"Lawns and gardens provide a myriad of environmental benefits that, too often, are taken for granted," says Rich Shank, PhD., chief environmental officer for ScottsMiracle-Gro. "Earth Day is a perfect time to remind us of the importance of our yards, community gardens, parklands and open green spaces to our ecosystem.

"This is also a good time to review best practices for homeowners in caring for their lawns," he added. These best practices include:

• Mow grass high. Taller grass is stronger grass, with deeper roots that can crowd out weeds and also find available water.
• Mulch the grass clippings and sweep stray clippings off the pavement and back onto lawns. Returning grass clippings to the lawn recycles nutrients and adds organic matter to the soil.
• Feed lawns to keep them healthy, which helps control soil erosion and reduce runoff.

The environmental benefits of lawns are numerous, beginning with the way grass grows a root system that knits together the soil. This dense ground cover keeps soil from eroding and controls storm water runoff.

A healthy lawn captures rainfall, preventing the water from moving off site. This reduces the amount of water entering storm drains and sewers and also helps to replenish groundwater supplies.  An average 10,000-sq. ft. lawn can absorb and filter more than 6,000 gallons of water from a rain event, which is equivalent to 1-1/2 inches of rainfall an hour.

Grass is also an impressive air filter, trapping dirt and dust, and converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. "The lawn outside one's home provides enough oxygen for an average family, day after day," Shank pointed out.

Another benefit of lawns is their significant cooling effect to the environment – one average size lawn has the cooling effect of two average-size air conditioners. Summer air temperatures above a lawn can be up to 30 degrees cooler than above a paved surface.

ScottsMiracle-Gro recently committed to a multi-year education program to help teach consumers about water quality and conservation practices as they care for their lawns and gardens. This education will be delivered through the Company's advertising, Web sites and environmental partners, which include the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Keep America Beautiful.

"We strongly believe that, by working together with consumers, communities and other stakeholders, ScottsMiracle-Gro will continue to make positive contributions to the environment through its lawn and gardening products, community gardening outreach and consumer education," Shank said.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro

With approximately $3 billion in worldwide sales, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®, Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligene® and Substral®. For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.

SOURCE The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company