/PRNewswire/ - The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) is helping improve more communities with the availability of its GRO1000 Grassroots Grant awards. As part of the GRO1000 program, a commitment to build 1,000 community gardens and green spaces by 2018, Grassroots Grants will be awarded to organizations across the U.S. to help create greenscapes in local neighborhoods and communities.

"Gardens and green spaces bring communities together to learn, grow and prosper," said Jim King, ScottsMiracle-Gro's senior vice president of corporate affairs. "We are proud to help local communities celebrate the power of gardening by creating more gardens and green spaces."

GRO1000 Grassroots Grant applications for 2012 are available online at: thescottsmiraclegrocompany.com/corporateresponsibility/community/gro1000.  Deadline for application submission is February 24, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Grants, which range from $500 to $1,500, are awarded based on community need, scope of project and long-term sustainability of the project.

In 2012, ScottsMiracle-Gro and its partners, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Plant A Row for the Hungry, Garden Writers Association, National Gardening Association and Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, will establish public community gardens and green spaces in Baltimore; Cleveland; Corpus Christi, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and San Francisco.

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 the U.S., we operate Scotts LawnService®, the second largest residential lawn care service business. 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.