Announcing Burpee Home Gardens …2009 Serves Up Sweet Success for Gardeners – Grow Vegetables, Save Money Gain Confidence

This spring, Burpee Home Gardens, a new program offering Burpee branded, garden-ready vegetable and herb plants, will help gardeners indulge in a healthy homegrown harvest, and battle the difficult economy and high grocery bills.

“In these tough economic times, and particularly given families’ growing preference for locally grown foods, there’s never been a better time to start a vegetable garden,” said Jessie Atchison, Burpee Home Gardens spokesperson. “With Burpee Home Gardens™ vegetable and herb plants sold at nearby stores, gardeners of every level can feel confident that they’ll share a successful homegrown harvest with friends and family this summer.”

Now sold as young plants with foolproof guidelines for planting and care, Burpee Home Gardens will help gardeners of every skill level obtain locally grown, flavorful varieties of vegetables and herbs. These varieties will be available at 140 Lowe’s stores in Dallas and the surrounding area beginning March 19.

With a “salsa garden” theme, Lowe’s stores will carry varieties of tomatoes, peppers and herbs sold as young plants. Including some Burpee exclusives, varieties available are:

• Tomatoes – Better Boy, Celebrity Hybrid, Big Mama, Champion II

• Peppers – Hottie Habanero, Jalapeno Gigante, Tabasco

• Herbs – Basil Sweet Italian Large Leaf, Santo Cilantro, Parsley Italian Dark, Rosemary

Each plant comes with guidelines for selection and planting – including light requirements, spacing, planting and care information – taking the guesswork out of home gardening and inspiring confidence in even the most novice gardener. The tag also includes the Burpee Home Gardens Web address (www.burpeehomegardens.com) to educate gardeners with additional information, ideas and inspiration for gardening success.

For more than 125 years, Burpee has gained a reputation among home gardeners for its hundreds of vegetable and herb varieties bred to taste better, produce longer, mature faster and be disease-resistant.

In 2010, a wide selection of Burpee Home Gardens’ tried-and-true vegetable and herb varieties will be sold at retail garden centers across the United States.

For more information on Burpee Home Gardens, growing instructions and gardening ideas, visit www.burpeehomegardens.com.

Burpee Home Gardens is a new program providing Burpee branded, garden-ready vegetable and herb plants at retail garden centers. This year, the program will be available in the Gulf States and Mid-Atlantic regions. A complete line, more than 100 varieties, of Burpee Home Gardens plants will be available across the United States in 2010.

BURPEE HOME

GARDENS

VEGETABLE

GARDENING

FUN FACTS

• There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes, from small cherry ones to Ponderosa, which can weigh more than 3 pounds.

• The tomato – the fruit for which Burpee is most famous – first grew as wild, cherry-sized berries in the South American Andes. The tomato as we know it today was developed in Mexico.

• A 40-year-old woman can burn 30 percent more calories gardening for one hour than in an aerobics class for one hour – 392 calories versus 306, respectively. (From Prevention.com)

• Got a cold? Green sweet bell peppers have twice the vitamin C of oranges. Red and yellow bell peppers have four times as much.

• Onions, apples and potatoes all have the same taste. The difference in flavor is caused by their smell. Pinch your nose and try it – they will all taste sweet.

• Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are also flowers!

• During the growing season, tomatoes can be grown in just about any climate and in almost any soil.

• The tomato is the world’s most popular fruit, more than 60 million tons are produced each year. This is 16 million more than banana, which is the second most popular fruit.

• Ounce for ounce, broccoli has more vitamin C than an orange and as much calcium as a glass of milk.

• Onions make you cry because they are full of sulphuric chemicals, which irritate your tear ducts. Sulphur is the same gas that is produced by volcanoes when they erupt.

Lowe’s Locations

11333 E. Northwest Highway Dallas TX 75238

11920 Inwood Rd., Dallas, TX – 75244